{"id":49744,"date":"2025-11-11T20:42:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T02:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=49744"},"modified":"2025-11-11T21:59:04","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T03:59:04","slug":"federal-action-may-end-fight-over-intoxicating-hemp-products-in-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=49744","title":{"rendered":"Federal action may end fight over intoxicating hemp products in Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

AUSTIN (Nexstar) \u2014 A proposal to reopen the U.S. government that passed the Senate on Monday<\/u><\/a> contains language that would outlaw the sale of consumable hemp products across the nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The language was included in the proposal to fund the Agriculture Department and closes a so-called loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill that allowed the sale of intoxicating hemp products in Texas stores. Texas passed its version of the Farm Bill in 2019 to reflect the federal law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But since then, the fight over regulating or banning consumable hemp products containing THC \u2014 the psychoactive chemical in the cannabis plant that gives its consumer a \u201chigh\u201d \u2014 has become a highly-debated and controversial issue in Texas government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Rand Paul,<\/u><\/a> R-Ky, offered an amendment to remove the language<\/u><\/a> from the Appropriations bill on the Senate floor. His proposal drew tepid support \u2014 it was tabled with only 24 votes supporting the amendment. The only other Republican to oppose the hemp language change was Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have long believed that the regulation of hemp and marijuana products should rest with each individual state,\u201d Cruz wrote on his X account.<\/u><\/a> \u201cReasonable minds can disagree, and a blanket federal prohibition disempowers the voters in each of the fifty States.\u201d He added that he believes a \u201cone-size-fits-all\u201d standard will create \u201cunintended consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The move by the U.S. Senate reflects what the Texas Senate did three times this year, passing a bill to ban intoxicating hemp products in the state. The policy was a priority for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick,<\/u><\/a> who strongly opposed the rising prevalence of intoxicating hemp products in the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Texas legislature passed a bill to ban those intoxicating products<\/u><\/a> during the regular session, but it was ultimately vetoed by Gov. Greg Abbott. The governor eventually issued an executive order<\/u><\/a> to create stricter regulations for these specific hemp products after failed attempts to find a solution in back-to-back special sessions over the summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe THC ban has been a priority for me, and I appreciate Congress addressing this important issue at the national level,\u201d Patrick wrote on his X account.<\/u><\/a> \u201cI believe this ban will save a generation from getting hooked on dangerous drugs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ban \u2014 which still needs to pass the U.S. House \u2014 would go into effect 365 days after the resolution is passed into law. By contrast, Texas\u2019s ban was set to take place on Sept. 1, only a couple months after Abbott\u2019s July 22 deadline to sign pending legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hemp industry reacts: \u2018We just have to take a better approach\u2019<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While the stated goal for proponents of the hemp definition change was to ban intoxicants, opponents of the change say it goes much further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think if people assume that if I\u2019m growing for fiber, there\u2019s no THC in there,\u201d Hemp farmer Kyle Bingham said. \u201cThat\u2019s not really true. There\u2019s THC in pretty much every hemp plant out there and by holding us to this higher standard and starting to get not just small amounts, but really trace amounts, is where it just gets to the point it doesn\u2019t make sense to risk (testing over the new THC limit).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bingham says he appreciated the Texas approach better, as Abbott called on experts to help find the best way to regulate the industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hemp industry leaders have worked extensively in recent years to keep their legal status granted by the 2018 farm bill. For example, Texas Hemp Business Council (THBC) hand-delivered boxes of letters to Abbott\u2019s office, asking him to veto the legislature\u2019s proposed THC ban. Because the U.S. Senate ban was added to a funding bill designed the re-open the government, the industry feels they haven\u2019t gotten a proper chance to respond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a standalone bill because it would not stand a chance of passing once they hear the facts,\u201d THBC Executive Director Mark Bordas, who\u2019s worked in government affairs for over 30 years, said. \u201cKudos to the other side. I don\u2019t work in D.C. and I wasn\u2019t part of this, but it\u2019s an orchestrated, calculated move. They knew there would be desperation to refund the government, and so we got caught up in that wash.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

thehill<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AUSTIN (Nexstar) \u2014 A proposal to reopen the U.S. government that passed the Senate on Monday contains language that would outlaw the sale of consumable hemp products across the nation. The language was included in the proposal to fund the Agriculture Department and closes a so-called loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill that allowed the sale of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":49745,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5784],"tags":[35236,35237,1298],"class_list":["post-49744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","tag-federal-action","tag-hemp-products","tag-texas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=49744"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49744\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49746,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49744\/revisions\/49746"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/49745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=49744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=49744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=49744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}