Texas regulators on Tuesday issued new rules governing intoxicating hemp products, restricting the sale of such goods by many retailers to adults aged 21 and older. The new regulations from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) come following an executive order from Gov. Greg Abbott calling on state regulators to enact age restrictions on hemp THC.
The new restrictions apply to retailers licensed by the TABC to sell alcohol, according to a report from the Texas Tribune. The new restrictions were set to go into effect as soon as they were posted in the state’s official Texas Register, with enforcement of the rules beginning on October 1. The regulations also require licensed retailers to require identification for purchases of intoxicating hemp products to ensure compliance with the new age restrictions.
Abbott issued the executive order after the state legislature failed to pass a bill regulating intoxicating hemp products, including one proposal that called for a ban on all hemp products with any amount of THC. The governor said after issuing the order that the move was intended to protect children from the potential harms of intoxicating hemp products.
“There’s one thing everybody agreed with, and that is we should ban it for kids. We tried to get that ban passed, and because it didn’t pass, I wanted to use this opportunity to make sure that I empowered the state department of health services to do what is already within their regulatory power,” Abbott said, according to a report from Fox4 News.
Lieutenant Governor Decries ‘Signal To The THC Industry’
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the leader of the state Senate, was one of the Republican leaders calling for a complete ban on hemp THC products. After Abbott issued his executive order calling for regulations on intoxicating hemp products that included age restrictions to keep them away from children, Patrick said the governor effectively legalized recreational cannabis in Texas.
“The Governor’s executive order, intentionally or not, has sent a signal to the THC industry that they have a state seal of approval on the current THC market,” Patrick said in a September 12 statement from his office.
“The governor has stated he does not want to legalize marijuana in Texas, but testimony from law enforcement and others say that is exactly what will happen,” the lieutenant governor added.
Lukas Gilkey, the CEO of Austin-based hemp products manufacturer Hometown Hero, characterized the approval of the new regulations as “historic” and overdue.
“For them to do this today is actually a really big deal for the industry and legitimizes the industry, so it’s an honor to be here and have them do that,” Gilkey said.
Only days before the TABC issued the emergency regulations, state Sen. Charles Perry, who had opposed the total ban on hemp THC, called on the Texas Department of Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller and Department of State Health Services Commissioner Jennifer Shuford to take the lead in regulating intoxicating hemp products.
“Unfortunately, in recent years, thousands of stores selling hazardous products have popped up in communities across the state, many selling products such as edibles, beverages, and smokables containing tetrahydrocannabinols for recreational use,” Perry wrote in a letter to the regulators, according to a report from Cannabis Business Times. “These companies are blatantly circumventing Texas law and exploiting purported ‘loopholes’ in rules promulgated under House Bill 1325, which impede law enforcement’s ability to investigate and enforce the Texas Controlled Substances Act regarding marijuana, edibles containing hash oil, and various products containing synthetic cannabinoids.”