The Texas Senate voted on Wednesday to advance a proposal seeking to ban the sale of products containing any amount of THC, including products that test under the 0.3% federal THC limit on industrial hemp, the Texas Tribune reports.
The Senate voted 24-7 in favor of Senate Bill 3, which would enact the THC ban. The proposal moves next to the House, which has its own legislation aimed at reining in the hemp industry. However, the House proposal focuses more heavily on regulatory restrictions, including new licensing and oversight rules, rather than aiming for an outright ban on most consumable hemp products.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) — who last year made banning THC in Texas one of his top priorities for 2025 — supports the Senate proposal, and he called the effort one of the “top five” bills of his entire political career, the report said.
“This is a poison in our public, and we as a Legislature — our No. 1 responsibility is life and death issues. We’re going to ban your stores before we leave here, for good.” — Lt. Gov. Patrick, in a Wednesday morning news conference, via the Tribune
Hemp industry lobbyists, meanwhile, have pushed for lawmakers to rethink the ban, claiming the move would effectively shutter the Texas hemp industry and destroy tens of thousands of employment opportunities in the state.
In February, a poll by the University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs found that 62% of Texas residents supported legalizing adult-use cannabis possession and sales.
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