Legalized hemp has helped cut smuggling at border. Texas, don’t mess with success | Opinion

The news from the U.S.-Mexico border has been bad for decades and even worse lately. So, how did a huge piece of good news that was unthinkable a decade ago, slip by almost unnoticed?

Marijuana trafficking has all but disappeared.

Since 2013, the amount of cannabis seized at the US-Mexico border has declined 98%. Just in the last three years, Border Patrol seizures of illegal marijuana along the Southwest border tumbled by 72%. Here in Texas, which has 1,254 miles of this border, we know any reduction in cartel activity is good for small Texas border communities.

Mexican gangs do not make the massive profits from marijuana that they once depended upon. That windfall profit was used to fund other violent illicit activities.

Part of the reason for the dramatic improvement was a 2019 Texas law that allows the legalized sale of hemp as long as the product contained no more than a tiny 0.3% THC, the psychoactive component in cannabis. The bill was passed to conform to the Federal Farm Bill of 2018 that President Donald Trump signed into law.

Since the bill was passed, Texas has seen an increase of 60,000 jobs involving hemp. Texas veterans’ groups concerned about post-traumatic stress disorder have stepped up to be among the strongest boosters of these new products. Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller recently spoke in favor of the industry as the Legislature considers new regulations cracking down on abuses of the law — most notably in unregulated smoke shops.

Responsible actors, like our company, provide an important benefit to Texans and welcome tight restrictions. The shining examples of good actors in the new industry are firms that are heavily regulated and sell their products only to adults and in locations the state already tightly regulates — from Texas bars to big-box liquor, grocery, and convenience stores.

Non-alcoholic THC-infused drinks now sold in adult-ID regulated locations have become a desirable alternative for people who struggle with or prefer not to drink alcohol.

In contrast to these places, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has called attention to the thousands of pop-up smoke shops who have no interest in responsible regulation. Not only do they openly market to children and have no age restrictions, but they also have no packaging or labeling requirements. They have no serving sizes or certification. They are arguably worse than the illegal dealers they have displaced.

Some believe these shops have grown too big to be stopped. But I believe it is possible to stop those who sell smokables to kids in smoke shops without crushing the law-respecting segment of the industry, which is doing good things.

I was an oil and gas executive when the Legislature opened this market six years ago, and I joined many other successful entrepreneurs across Texas who recognized and leapt at the opportunity to be a pioneer in the industry. I fought hard to raise and invest millions in capital to be part of a burgeoning new supply chain, join in the creation of thousands of jobs and deliver a great in-demand product — vertically integrated from the hemp farmer to the consumer.

The worst news from the perspective of responsible businesses such as mine, Bayou City Hemp Company, is that fly-by-night shops threaten the gains that Texas has made. Texas has begun to defund powerful drug gangs that destabilize Mexico. Nobody would be happier to see the clock turned back on the 2019 Texas law than the traffickers who have stood by watching demand for their former top-seller drop by nearly three-quarters.

Nobody would be happier with a complete ban of THC than criminal gangs who stand ready to fire up their drones to fly over remote borders walls to revive their failing businesses.

Our company calls for more regulation while saving producers and customers of excellent products with exceptional records of responsibility.