After Gov. Abbott vetoed THC ban, will the product be regulated?
AUSTIN (Nexstar) — After vetoing Senate Bill 3, which would have banned all THC in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott immediately moved to call a special session of the legislature, demanding lawmakers act swiftly to regulate hemp-derived THC.
But Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who spearheaded the effort to pass SB 3, quickly responded in a news conference, saying he strongly disagreed with the governor’s decision. The dispute sets up a political showdown between the state’s two highest office holders.
Abbott’s veto pointed out that SB 3 would likely be tied up in court for years, preventing the state from taking action on the issue of protecting children from accessing THC products. He also listed a set of specific regulations that the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission already enforces on alcohol products, saying the legislature should consider those regulations in a special session.
But Patrick doubled down, saying he sees the governor’s move as a sign that Abbott wants to legalize marijuana for recreational use in Texas. He said the hemp industry is too big and extensive to regulate, and that banning the product is the best solution.
“I’m not mad at the governor, but I’m not going to legalize marijuana in Texas, and if people want to vote me out of office for that, so be it,” Patrick said.
With the path forward unclear — regulation, ban or status quo — business owners in the hemp industry say the fight to stay afloat is not over.
Chris Karazin is the CEO and founder of Carolindica, a hemp-derived THC vendor based in North Carolina. He said the company is an advocate for smart legislation surrounding THC products, based on science, and opposed SB 3.
He called Abbott’s veto a win for both the industry and the country, saying the ban would have pushed people off-market as it would not reduce demand.
“You can jumble it all under protect our children verbiage, but you are just taking options from people that want those options,” Karazin said. “And let’s be real, they’re going to go find them somewhere else. You’re just going to push them to an unregulated market.”
Karazin opposed the total ban, along with Roger Volodarsky, the CEO and founder of Puffco, a company that makes vaping devices for cannabis products. Though Puffco does not sell any THC directly, he still said banning THC in a state as large as Texas would impact his business.
Both Volodarsky and Karazin agreed with Abbott’s calls for regulating the industry.
“Governor Abbott proposed some things that are just common sense regulations we can put out there, like lab testing, labeling, age restricted access … to make sure it’s not getting in the hands of kids and the people who are using it are able to use safe product,” Volodarsky said.
Some proposed regulations include banning smokable products — currently prohibited under the state’s medical marijuana program — or banning THC products created synthetically, typically found in Delta-8.
Volodarsky did not support banning smokable products. He said the effects of edible products take time to hit the body and take several hours to wear off. He said that taking away the option to inhale THC products is a matter of restricting personal freedoms above all else.
“I know that there’s a lot of stigma around inhaling cannabis in general … but it is the fastest and most effective way to administer cannabinoids into the body, and I think people should have that as an option,” Volodarsky said.
Karazin also opposes the idea of banning synthetic products, disputing the term synthetic and saying it has become weaponized to scare people.
“No matter how you frame this, all the cannabinoids … are natural to this plant. In order to extract them, you are using chemistry … using heat, pressure, etcetera,” Karazin said. “The definition of the synthetic is an incredibly vague, and I would go so far as saying an arbitrary term.”
In the special session, Karazin said he wants the product to be regulated, citing age restrictions and lab test to ensure quality and safety as well as clear labeling so people know what they are ingesting. He said he would even go as far to say that there should be a regulatory body overseeing THC products for the state, taking enforcement and regulation out of the hands of local law enforcement — something Patrick was concerned about.
And what happens during session is a sign of what may be to come nationally, as Volodarsky sees the fate of the hemp industry in Texas as “ground zero” for federal marijuana legislation.
“What’s happening in Texas is a big fight between the stigma of cannabis and the community that’s grown around it, and I think if Texas is able to flip and offer safe access to users, that is a great omen for the future of cannabis in the federal world as well,” Volodarsky said.
