Texas THC ban: Groups hold competing news conferences with bill awaiting Abbott approval

AUSTIN, Texas - With a bill to ban THC products in Texas awaiting Governor Greg Abbott's signature, both supporters and those who oppose the bill are looking to sway the governor.

Competing news conferences between the Texas hemp industry and those looking to ban the products were held Monday.

Texas Hemp Business Council News Conference

The Texas Hemp Business Council held a news conference on Monday morning, which included comments from farmers, veterans, small business owners and hemp advocates.

The advocates raised concerns about what they say will dismantle a $4.3 billion industry which they say supports 53,000 jobs, as well as the potential to "open the floodgates" to unregulated, unsafe products in the vacuum created by the legislation. 

A petition with more than 100,000 signatures and thousands of letters were delivered to Gov. Greg Abbott’s office after the news conference.

What they're saying:

"I'm here today with one simple message. Governor Abbott, please veto Senate Bill 3," said Texas VFW Senior Commander Dave Walden.

Walden said he was put on a "never-ending parade of pills" to help combat his PTSD. He spoke about a time when he was "lost in a fog due to prescription drugs" and wandered away from home. He said hemp-derived THC gummies helped him. Those same gummies would be banned under SB3.

"Senate Bill 3 wants to turn [the gummies] into contraband. It wants to me and thousands of other veterans into criminals for choosing an alternative that works for us," said Walden.

Walden says he supports the expansion of the state's Compassionate Use Program, which allows for medicinal marijuana to be used in specific circumstances. He says it will take too long and can be too expensive.

"I explored TCUP. I did my own research. $500 a month is what it cost me, versus $90 in gummies. A veteran that lives on VA disability and makes a couple grand a month and that's all the income they have, how can they afford it?" he said.

Citizens for a Safe and Healthy Texas News Conference

Another news conference was held by Citizens for a Safe and Healthy Texas in support of Senate Bill 3.

Speakers at the event included members of the Texas Legislature, doctors and more.

What they're saying:

"We urge Governor Abbott to sign this bill into law to protect Texas families from further harm," said Aubrey Adams, the director of Citizens for a Safe and Healthy Texas. "This bill is a correction bill to get rid of the poison that is synthetic THC."

Adams argues that THC-infused products are deliberately designed to "target young people" and hide their use from parents and schools.

"This is not Reefer Madness. This is Reefer Science," she said.

"These poisonous products are illegal in the states of Colorado and California, but their states allow their hemp industry to manufacture them and sell them to Texans to poison them," said Adams.

Will Gov. Abbott Ban THC?

What's next:

Abbott has declined to comment on whether he will sign SB 3 into law. 

The legislation has been sent to his desk, and while the governor has been vocal about bills he intends to sign, the THC ban has not been mentioned in the wake of pressure from opposing sides. 

The governor has three choices before him. He can either sign the bill into law, veto the legislation, or allow it to sit on his desk through the June 22 deadline, at which point it will pass without his direct approval and take effect on Sept. 1.

Texas THC Ban

SB 3 has been championed through the legislative session by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has called the consumable products "poison." 

Patrick argues the industry was created unintentionally and that several of the products on store shelves are not regulated and could contain dangerous amounts of THC.

The other side:

Small business owners have been among the front runners of those in opposition of the bill. They say the industry is made up of over 8,000 businesses in the state, all of which would potentially be dismantled if the bill were signed into law.

Patrick has come under fire by small business owners, who claim he "blatantly lied" about the contents of consumable THC products.

Alongside small businesses are Texas veterans. They say THC has been a positive alternative to more addictive and potentially harmful substances like alcohol, opiates and prescription pills, and worry about those suffering from PTSD and other mental and physical maladies who might fall back into destructive habits if the substance is banned. 

The backstory:

The THC products being sold by businesses in Texas were legalized via an accidental loophole created in 2019, when Texas passed legislation expanding the hemp industry. 

Farmers worry that closing off that loophole will be disastrous for their profits and employees, which have come to rely heavily on the booming industry over the past six years.

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