When it comes to the future of cannabis in the Lone Star State, all eyes are on the 89th Texas Legislature. Multiple cannabis-related bills have been pre-filed before the legislative session begins Jan. 14, and Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is starting to sound the alarm.
Initially, Miller appeared opposed to Senate Bill 3, announced by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in December 2024, which aims to ban all consumable THC except for medical marijuana products. The commissioner even told a concerned citizen on social media platform X that “the GOP needs to find some consensus” and “it’s time to support the will of the people.”
However, Miller’s stance seems to have shifted. In an opinion posted Jan. 2, Miller asks, “When did the Texas Legislature debate recreational marijuana and ultimately vote to legalize it?”
The agriculture commissioner proceeded to answer his rhetorical question with a simple “they didn’t” before blasting the hemp industry in Texas. Miller claims in his opinion that the market has been flooded by “unregulated consumer products” such as vape pens, edibles and cannabis flower.
“What’s worse, there are no consumer standards, safety inspections, or chemical analysis of these products to determine their level of intoxicants or even their basic safety,” Miller argues. “Even if the legislature voted to legalize recreational marijuana tomorrow, that legislation would create a legal market with rules, guardrails, checks, and balances. What we have now is the wild west.”
Texas ag commissioner’s cannabis claims and state law
But when reviewing state law, it appears the Texas agriculture commissioner’s alarming words do not paint the whole picture.
The 2018 federal Farm Bill‘s legalization of hemp in the United States paved the way for Texas House Bill 1325, which was signed into law in June 2019. This bill authorized the production, manufacturing and retail sale of industrial hemp crops and products, including consumable hemp products like those Miller mentioned in his opinion.
Texas launched its consumable hemp program in August 2020. Stephen Pahl of the Texas Department of Public Safety stated at the time that the program established “a consistent regulatory framework for consumable hemp products that are manufactured or sold in Texas.”
State law defines consumable hemp products as “any product processed or manufactured for consumption that contains hemp, including food, a drug, a device and a cosmetic.” Hemp is defined as cannabis with no more than 0.3% delta-9 THC. Hemp used in consumable products must be tested at the time of harvest. Stores selling such products are required to have accessible certificates of analysis from an accredited lab showing THC levels.
Hemp industry experts have long called for increased regulations in Texas, especially since state law does not set a minimum age requirement to purchase hemp-derived cannabis products. Cannabis advocates and professionals addressed this in a heated hearing with the Texas Senate Committee on State Affairs in May 2024.
Shayda Torabi, founder of Restart CBD + THC, admitted that while there are “bad actors,” or those who skate around the law, she argued that banning consumable hemp products was not the solution.
“We are open to compromise as an industry to reflect a better landscape,” Torabi told the committee. “We are openly asking to work with the state.”
H/T: www.lonestarlive.com
