(NewsNation) — A bill that would ban all products containing THC is now on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk after the Senate late Sunday approved the House version of the bill advanced by the lower chamber last week.
NewsNation’s Xavier Walton says lawmakers feel the bill will protect children.
“We can’t regulate it,” Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said. “We don’t have enough police to check every store, when there are 8 to 9,000 of them.”
The bill came alongside a push by Texas Republicans to expand the state’s medical marijuana program significantly. Under the new ban, possession of hemp products now carries a dramatically stricter penalty — a year in jail. The rule fixes a loophole in the 2019 Consumable Hemp Law that didn’t allow products to contain more than trace amounts of delta-9 THC, nor establish that same threshold for other hemp derivatives.
“To put it into perspective, we only have 1,100 McDonald’s in the state of Texas, 1,300 Starbucks in the state of Texas,” Patrick added. “So, there are eight times more smoke shops selling this poison.”
While state government officials argue that passing the bill would safeguard children, the economic impact the ban would have could be devastating to the state’s economy. The hemp industry contributes $10.2 billion to the state, according to Whitney Economics.
Local business owners acknowledged the bill is an “overreach.”
“It’s about $268 million in tax revenue that it’s going to deplete,” said Jennifer Garza, owner of CBD American Shaman. “And again, 53,000 Texans are going to be without a job. It’s absolutely heartbreaking. I’m thinking about my customers, the veterans, all the business owners that are going to lose their jobs.”
In passing the ban, Texas joins several states, including Colorado, Iowa, Arizona, Hawaii and Alaska, that have banned or restricted intoxicating forms of hemp, or the compounds derived from it.
If signed by Abbott, the bill would take effect in September.
Shops and business owners have until January to fully comply. Lawmakers also agreed to expand Texas’s “Compassionate Use Program,” which allows those with specific conditions to use low-level THC products.
