A THC ban? Regulations? Here’s what Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he supports
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, in advocating for a ban on intoxicating THC products, offered details in recent interviews on what he’d like to see in legislation addressing THC laws.
“The only hemp product that’s going to be out there is nonintoxicating hemp, which is below three milligrams of THC in the hemp, and we will make sure that there will be the level of enforcement to provide that,” Abbott said in an July 22 interview with Community Impact.
Abbott told the news outlet he wants to “protect the lives of children while at the same time protecting the liberty of adults to use a nonintoxicating product.
“The way that we protect the lives of children is to completely ban any type of THC product, any type of hemp and any type of marijuana from [children] being able to use it,” Abbott said, according to the report.
Abbott also addressed his supported policies for THC-related legislation in interviews with The Texan and KDFW-TV.
“The structure of what I’m looking for is this, and that is, we must continue to criminalize marijuana in the state of Texas, no change in the marijuana laws,” Abbott said in an interview with KDFW. “We need to ban THC as well as hemp products for children under the age of 21. We don’t want them to be exposed to that. We also need to ban synthetics that are laced onto hemp products that are extraordinarily dangerous.
That said, after we accomplish those two things, for adults we need to have a highly regulated hemp industry to ensure that farmers are able to grow it, and that hemp products that do not have an intoxicating level of THC on it can be sold in the marketplace for adults to be able to use.”
He said there should also be strict enforcement, following a structure such as what is in place for alcohol, and criminal consequences for “anybody who violates these standards.”
In a statement to the Star-Telegram, Abbott spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris said, “Governor Abbott has been clear that Texas must do all we can to protect the lives of children while protecting the liberty of adults.
“Hemp products should be banned for those under the age of 21, with a full ban on extraordinarily dangerous synthetic products. Adults should be able to access heavily regulated, nonintoxicating levels of hemp, and there should be strict legal enforcement of hemp that exceeds 3.0 milligrams total THC per serving. The Governor will continue working with the legislature to establish a framework that meets those goals.”
The remarks come as the Texas Legislature is in a special session during which THC regulations are on the agenda following Abbott’s veto of Senate Bill 3. That bill would have banned all consumable hemp products that contain any cannabinoids other than CBD or CBG, which do not produce a high.
In his veto statement, Abbott said the legislation would face “valid constitutional challenges” that would keep it from taking effect. He called for things like age restrictions and labeling and packaging requirements. He also said the state needed restrictions on the “amount of THC permissible in each product” and a limit on the number of purchases a person can make in a given period of time.
The Senate’s latest proposal for THC laws advanced from a committee on June 22, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said in a post on social media. A spokesperson for Patrick shared the post in response to an emailed request for comment.
“Senate Bill 5 permits the legal sale and use of non-psychoactive hemp-derived products like CBD, CBG, hulled hemp seeds, hemp seed oil, and hemp seed protein powder,” Patrick said. “With the passage of HB 46 in the regular session that expanded the TCUP (Texas Compassionate Use Program), Texas now has the largest compassionate use program in America so people who need THC can get it prescribed by doctors at one of many new locations.”
