Texas considers banning products infused with THC derived from hemp, and retailers are worried

AUSTIN, Texas — Walk into enough gas stations and they're likely easy to find: gummies, drinks and vapes infused with THC, the compound that gives marijuana its psychoactive properties.

That's given lawmakers across the U.S. headaches over how to regulate the booming market, and it's a conflict now taking hold in Texas, where a proposed ban passed by the Legislature poses another major battle for the industry.

Texas has some of the nation's most restrictive marijuana laws, but thousands of retailers in the state sell THC consumables, underscoring states' struggle to set rules around the products that generate millions in tax revenue.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has not indicated whether he will sign the ban. Other states, including California, have imposed restrictions in recent years that include banning underage use and limits on the potency of the products, which are often marketed as legal even in states where marijuana is not.

''Governor Abbott will thoughtfully review any legislation sent to his desk,'' spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris said when asked for comment on the bill.

Texas tries to crack down

The Texas bill would make it a misdemeanor to sell, possess or manufacture consumable products with tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. The proposal shadows several other state efforts to crack down on a market that has exploded since a 2018 federal law allowed states to regulate hemp, which can be synthetically processed to create THC.

Hemp is a plant that is grown to make textiles, plastics, food and several other products. It is related to marijuana and must contain less than 0.3% THC to still be classified as hemp under federal law.

The proliferating market has given residents in states with strict marijuana laws such as Texas a legal way to access products that can give them a similar high.

Nationwide, the substances are often sold through legal loopholes, despite concerns about potential health risks and a lack of oversight of how they're produced.

Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick laid out bags of THC snacks on a table in front of a group of reporters last week to reiterate his determination for Texas to ban the products. He said he wasn't worried about Abbott when asked about the possibility of a veto.

''This is serious business,'' Patrick said.

If enacted into law, Texas would have one of the most restrictive bans in the country, according to Katharine Neil Harris, a researcher in drug policy at the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University.

''I'm not aware of any other states without recreational marijuana markets that also prohibit consumable hemp products from having any THC,'' Harris said.

A jumbled legal landscape

States that prohibit recreational marijuana have also made efforts to regulate the THC market, including Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee.

In Florida, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a bill last year that would have put in place age restrictions and banned marketing directed toward children, stating that it would hurt small businesses.

''There's such a variety in how states have responded to this," Harris said.

Texas has one of the most restrictive medical marijuana programs in the country, only allowing three licensed dispensaries to operate in the state to sell low-potency marijuana to residents with PTSD, cancer or other conditions. Proposals to expand the state's medical program are a sticking point for some Republican lawmakers.

A total of 38 states and the District of Columbia have laws that allow the medical use of marijuana. About 6 in 10 voters across the country said they favor legalizing recreational use nationwide, according to AP VoteCast, in a 2024 survey of more than 120,000 U.S. voters.

Retailers push back on ban

Kyle Bingham, a farmer in the Texas Panhandle, said he doesn't plan on growing hemp anymore if there's a ban. He has grown the plant on a family farm with his dad for four years and said it is one of many crops they grow, including cotton.

''We've never planted more than 5% of our acres in hemp, and that's part of the business plan," said Bingham, who is also vice president of the National Hemp Growers Association. ''So for us, it's definitely hard to walk away from as an investment.''

Because of a lack of federal oversight into manufacturing processes and a lack of uniform labeling requirements, it's hard to know what exactly is in THC products sold in stores.

Many dispensaries, worried about their future, have urged the governor to veto the legislation. They have defended their industry as providing medical relief to people who cannot access medical marijuana through the state's restrictive program.

''It's absurd they think they can sign away 50,000 jobs,'' Savannah Gavlik, an employee at Austin-based dispensary Dope Daughters, said. The store will likely have to close if the ban takes place, but the anxiety has not yet set in, she said.

''One of the biggest things we provide is self care,'' Gavlik said. ''It's people genuinely wanting medical relief.''

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Lathan is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.