Texas Senate advances bill to ban THC, with final passage expected Friday

CBS News

3 days ago

The Texas Senate approved the second reading of a bill banning THC products on Wednesday with a 21-9 vote. The final vote will take place on Friday.
Just over a month ago, Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed a similar bill banning products containing THC. He explicitly asked lawmakers to regulate, not ban, hemp products, calling on them to "craft a law that does as much as possible to corral the problems while also being structured so that it can go into effect this year."
Senators argued that won't work.
"We'll regulate it," Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, said last week. "We'll regulate it by banning it. Because we already tried regulating it."
State senators revived it in the special session, filing nearly identical legislation and passing it unanimously out of committee with a 10-0 vote last week.
Senate Bill 5, by Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, bans Delta 8, Delta 9 and all other forms of intoxicating THC, including beverages. It also prohibits the retail sale of any cannabinoid in the state, with the exception of CBD and CBG.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said SB 5 does not alter Texas' Compassionate Use Program (TCUP) or laws related to the farming of hemp. He also said the bill does not impact the sale or use of CBD or CBG products.
"Since 2019, bad actors have taken advantage of a loophole in Texas agriculture law to sell potent, intoxicating forms of THC that have nothing to do with agriculture," Patrick said in a statement. "These shops have rapidly spread throughout Texas, endangering the health and safety of children and families across our state, with no accountability. These products, often containing dangerous levels of THC, are marketed directly towards young people with colorful packaging and images, making THC look like candy or sweets."
Patrick also said that SB 5 has the support of every law enforcement agency in the state, the Texas Medical Association, the Texas Pediatric Society, and "many families impacted by this scourge sweeping our state."
Advocates argue a ban would close hundreds of businesses and hurt Texans who use these products.
"Hemp-derived consumables are affordable, accessible and effective," Mitch Fuller, who represents the Texas VFW, previously said to CBS News Texas.
Fuller said many of the VFW's 65,000 veterans see the industry as an alternative to alcohol and opioids. But senators dismissed those claims.
"We're taking a stance on this," said Fuller. "Again, no one's using us; we are doing this on our own volition because it helps us. It works great."
The federal and Texas governments legalized hemp in 2018 and 2019, respectively, with agricultural uses in mind. The laws differentiated hemp from illegal forms of cannabis by defining it as having 0.3% "delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol" or less. The laws didn't explicitly cap other forms of THC, like delta-8 and delta-10, which aren't naturally found in large quantities, but have similar psychoactive effects to delta-9.
Cannabis companies jumped on the loophole, providing Texas retailers with products containing the unregulated THC compounds.
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and its sibling, cannabidiol (CBD), are produced by the same cannabis plant and have similar chemical structures but differ dramatically in their mechanisms of action and effects on brain functions, according to the National Institutes of Health.
THC and CBD both have therapeutic properties, however, impairments and increased incidence of mental health diseases are associated with acute and chronic THC use, according to the NIH.
NIH also said there are significant side effects are associated with chronic use of high-dose CBD.
The bill now heads to the House for consideration. If the House also passes the bill, it will go to Abbott for approval, veto, or inaction. The Senate's approval could lead to another showdown with Abbott.