Retailers relieved that Texas skirted a THC ban — again

Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.

---

When news broke Wednesday afternoon of a last-minute push to pass new, stricter regulations for consumable hemp products, the employees at Austin Vape & Smoke sprung into action.

Zaquiri Hensen, a manager at the South Austin store, said he alerted his staff and other stores around the city before beginning to contact his legislators, urging them to reject any strict regulation or ban. Every customer that came into the store for the rest of the day was told to do the same, Hensen said.

“I still watched the House stream just in case because you never know what’s going to happen on the House floor,” Hensen said.

Hensen was finally able to relax around 9 p.m. when Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced in a post on X that the Senate would wrap up the second special session hours later, effectively closing out the Legislature without any new THC restrictions or a ban.

The smoke shop’s ability to quickly mobilize exemplifies the incredible opposition that the $8 billion Texas hemp industry and its customer base cultivated against legislative threats this year. For the better part of 2025, that industry has grappled with the uncertainty of state legislators seeking to ban or sharply curtail its sales, but on Wednesday, the industry collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

After eight months of committee hearings, debates, a surprise decision by Gov. Greg Abbott to veto a total ban of hemp in June and last-minute negotiations on Wednesday, the status quo will largely remain in place for the industry, for now. Hemp-derived THC products — the gummies, flower buds and drinks that are sold at convenience stores, liquor stores, smoke shops and even some grocers across the state — will remain legal.

Cynthia Cabrera, president of the industry trade association Texas Hemp Business Council, said she never relaxed throughout the two special sessions this summer, despite the lack of public effort from the House to again pass a total ban of hemp. She barely slept as the Senate remained in session until early Thursday morning.

“I’m glad I stayed vigilant,” said Cabrera, who is also the chief strategy officer of Hometown Hero, Austin-based manufacturer of hemp-derived THC products. “There’s no rest for the weary.”

The Legislature’s impasse means the debate over what to do about hemp products could rage on. Patrick, who has cited protecting children from using the products as key motivator, reiterated in his post on X that he remains committed to a total ban, despite Abbott’s opposition for such a measure.

A likely next step: Age restrictions

Earlier this year, the Legislature did successfully pass some efforts addressing the sale and marketing of THC products geared toward youth. For instance, the ban on the sale of vape pens, even those that just contain nicotine — which passed during the regular session and took effect Monday — explicitly applies to any made to look like pens, highlighters, smartphones or other items often seen in schools.

But lawmakers failed to pass an age limit for who can purchase THC products, despite the proposal garnering wide support. Major hemp industry representatives have said they welcome more regulation over an outright ban and Abbott in his veto of the THC hemp ban called for restrictions including age limits.

“If there was a legitimate concern with public safety and access by minors, then that would be resolved by an age gate bill,” Cabrera said. “This piecemeal approach just means [state Sen.] Charles Perry and Dan Patrick lacked the thoughtfulness required to ensure Texans have access to the products they use on a daily basis.”

From the recent special session, House Bill 36 focused specifically on banning THC products for people under 21. There was even chatter among some lawmakers during last-minute negotiations on Wednesday to advance the proposal, though it eventually died in a House committee without receiving a hearing.

This leaves age restrictions in the hands of retailers.

Hensen said his smoke shop, along with other stores he communicates with regularly, have already restricted access to their stores to people 21 or older since the state increased the age to purchase tobacco to 21 in 2019.

Supporters of a ban also cited concerns over quality control of hemp products, something Hensen said his store already prioritizes.

“If you have a bad product on your shelves, customers aren’t going to come back and buy it again,” Hensen said. “There’s no reason to have something that would send someone to the hospital.”

Damage already done

While the hemp industry avoided a catastrophic total ban, the decision by lawmakers to remove THC vapes from the market is expected to negatively affect businesses. Hensen, along with several other smoke shop managers in Austin, estimated the vapes made up about 20% of their sales every month.

“I had a couple people yesterday who came in asking for [THC] vapes,” said Eduard Streltsov, a manager at Dream Planet Smoke Shop in East Austin. “When I told them we didn’t have them anymore, they left without buying anything.”

At the same time, the medical marijuana expansion made it so dispensaries are now allowed to sell THC vapes, potentially tightening the existing competition between the two cannabis industries.

Along with consumable hemp, the shops sell nicotine products, glass pipes and bongs. Most shops said a total ban would not force them to completely shut down, but it would likely lead to cutting hours for some employees and layoffs for others.

The uncertainty in the hemp industry has also prevented growth. Austin Smoke & Vape at the start of the year was planning to open a new location and hire more employees, but those plans were paused in the spring as the ban measure made its way through the Legislature.

Regardless of action by the Legislature, advocates said the Texas Department of State Health Services already has laws in place to be able to provide oversight for the hemp industry, but lawmakers noted they are rarely enforced. Law enforcement officials contend they lack the funding to be able to regularly inspect and test hemp products because more deadly drugs like fentanyl take priority at crime labs.

Medical marijuana’s impact

The country’s conflicting cannabis laws have pitted two sides of the industry against each other in Texas. Although hemp-derived THC is legal, marijuana remains federally illegal except with a prescription. Companies in the heavily regulated Texas medical industry, which has pushed for regulation and never heavily opposed a ban on its sister industry, have reported losing customers to the hemp industry.

Texas has had a medical marijuana program since 2015, and it has been expanded three times since in 2019, 2021 and this year. The program is restrictive, only allowing patients with a narrow set of conditions to get a prescription to purchase marijuana from a small number of distributors permitted to operate in the state.

Jervonne Singletary, a spokesperson for the Austin medical marijuana company goodblend, said that while her company believes both the hemp industry and medical marijuana industry can coexist in Texas, the company was disappointed to not see restrictions passed that put the industries on a more level playing field.

“We want to ensure that what people are taking is safe and effective for the reasons that they're taking it,” Singletary said. “At the end of the day, these are both intoxicating products with very, very few genetic differences, and so they should be treated in some form or fashion in a like manner.”

The Legislature’s uncertainty over hemp-derived THC also impacted the medical marijuana industry. Singletary’s company fielded calls throughout the spring and summer from patients concerned that the legislative debate would also harm access to medical marijuana.

The passage of expansion for the medical marijuana program will still be a boon for the industry, Singletary said, pointing to the law’s removal of restrictions like an arduous requirement that dispensaries not hold their product in stores overnight. But the rollout could take several months, delaying an increase in access for ailing users.

“The uncertainty has been a bit hard to plan in, but I think now we are past that uncertainty that hinders business development, and we can move forward as a company, and the industry can move forward with the legislature that actually supports the program.”

Heather Fazio, director of advocacy for Texas Cannabis Policy Center, said in spite of the intense debates surrounding medical marijuana and hemp in 2025, Texas is closer than ever to legalizing recreational marijuana. Fazio’s advocacy group has worked in Texas for a decade to push the creation of the medical marijuana program, decriminalize marijuana possession, protect the hemp industry and fully legalize the drug.

“We're headed in the right direction, and we're having meaningful conversations about these policies,” Fazio said. “When we are able to have a seat at the table and have lawmakers at the table, we start to really break down the issue and help to find shared values.”

---

Shape the future of Texas at the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival, happening Nov. 13–15 in downtown Austin! We bring together Texas’ most inspiring thinkers, leaders and innovators to discuss the issues that matter to you. Get tickets now and join us this November.

TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.