Apparently banning weed gummies is harder than outlawing women’s rights, because THC is still legal in Texas.
State lawmakers wrapped up their latest special session Wednesday night without passing the Senate’s proposal to ban nearly all THC products, leaving hemp-derived cannabis on shelves across the state — at least until Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick convinces Gov. Greg Abbott to drag everyone back for another round of “Reefer Madness: Texas Edition.”
Patrick, who rarely loses a legislative battle, announced that the ban wouldn’t make it out of the recently concluded special session.
“After long discussions last night between the Governor, Speaker, and me on THC, and continued hours of discussion today, we were not able to come to a resolution,” Patrick said in a social media post Wednesday night.
Online, people welcomed the bill’s “incredible” failure as a “victory,” noting that “sometimes incompetence is welcome” and celebrating by announcing, “lemme smoke a lil more before bed.”
But the anti-good times forces may not be done yet (they never are). Patrick has said that he expects Abbott to call another special session to deal with unfinished business (namely, flood relief), according to Capitol reporter Scott Braddock.
The fight over THC has become one of the sharpest disagreements between Patrick and Abbott. Patrick and the Senate have repeatedly pushed for a full ban on products containing any trace of cannabinoids other than CBD and CBG, the non-intoxicating compounds in cannabis. Abbott, meanwhile, vetoed the ban after the regular session and has argued instead for limiting THC sales to people 21 and older while keeping the market regulated for adults.
The Senate has passed its version of the ban three times this year, most recently during the second special session. But when the bill landed in the House, it stalled.
That delay leaves thousands of CBD shops across Texas still in business, for now. Over the past decade, retailers have flourished by selling hemp-derived cannabis products with varying amounts of THC.
Patrick has harrumphed about those products, calling them unsafe and accusing shops of targeting both children and adults. In May, he threw them at the Capitol press corps in anger (which was hilarious).
For now, the standoff means Texas law remains unchanged and THC products derived from hemp remain widely available, save for vape pens.
Still, THC consumers and advocates reveled in the news.
“NANNY DANNY LOST YALL, HEMP THC IS SAFE IN TEXAS FOR ANOTHER 2 YEARS, LETS FUCKING GOOOOOO,” one user posted.
“Next step is to see if @GregAbbott_TX calls a special session 3 for hemp thc,” the pro THC group Texas Cannabis Collective posted on X. “If they couldn’t negotiate over a regular and two special sessions, a third is incredibly unlikely.”