Texas lawmakers want to ban all THC products, but advocates urge them to focus on regulation
The Brief
Some Texas lawmakers want to ban all THC products in Texas
The Texas Senate has already passed a bill to do just that, SB 3
Industry advocates are urging lawmakers to focus on regulation rather than prohibition
AUSTIN, Texas - Lawmakers are pushing to ban all THC products in Texas, but industry advocates are urging them to focus on regulation rather than prohibition.
RELATED: Texas Senate passes bill to ban THC products
What they're saying
"This is a poison in our public," Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said.
Lt. Gov. Patrick said 8,300 stores in Texas sell THC, and they've made about $8 billion.
"They used a loophole to get around a bill that the legislature passed in 2019," Lt. Gov. Patrick said.
The law allowed for the commercialization of hemp. Because of that, many shops started selling Delta 8 and 9 products as well as other chemical variations that are more potent.
"It's been marketed as something that is safe and legal, and it's anything but," Lubbock State Senator Charles Perry said. "Quality of those products is not monitored, it goes from 30% on average, all the way up to 80% THC inside of it and you don't know what that pot is being mixed with when it was put in there."
Senator Perry said he's determined to shut it down. He filed Senate Bill 3. It would ban THC and nearly all other cannabinoids. It would also require someone to be at least 21 years old to purchase CBD, would create harsher penalties related to consumable hemp products, and marketing and advertising would be limited as to not appeal to children.
"Intentional mislabeling on many products have led to accidental overdoses and increased addiction, with proven research showing that these products carry many long-term health risks, particularly to our young people," Allen Police Department Chief Steve Dye said.
The other side
On Tuesday, Lt. Gov. Patrick walked into a store in Austin that had sent the nearby high school administrators a letter warning students not to trespass in the store.
"I asked them to show me the product, and he said, 'well, here's our one gummy that's 750mg,'" Lt. Gov. Patrick said.
The attorney for the hemp store, David Sergi, said that's not true and products with more than 50mg per serving are not available in the store.
"Lieutenant Governor Patrick came into Happy Cactus, our client's store, and saw that we do things correctly. He learned that we had sent a no-trespass letter to Crockett High School because we didn't want their students in our store. He also learned that their students no longer attempt to come into our store. Happy Cactus does things right like most of our industry," said David Sergi.
"I speak on behalf of the growers, manufacturers and consumers. All SB 3 will do is kill an industry that is thriving and take away jobs," CEO Drops of Life CBD, Fresh Grown Texas Jake Garry said.
What's next
Senate Bill 3 has already passed in the senate, but faces opposition from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
The Source
Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Meredith Aldis, statements from Texas lawmakers, and previous coverage
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