What’s happening
The new rules, which took effect immediately, require consumable hemp retailers to check all customers’ IDs to ensure they are at least 21 years old and state that businesses may lose their hemp licenses for selling THC products to minors. They were approved by Texas Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Cecile Erwin Young, the agency said.
Ten days earlier, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, which regulates the state’s alcohol industry, approved emergency rules prohibiting bars, liquor stores and other alcohol retailers from selling THC products to anyone under 21.
A TABC spokesperson told Community Impact the two state agencies are working together to enforce a Sept. 10 executive order by Gov. Greg Abbott, who called for age restrictions on THC sales and tighter guardrails on the multibillion-dollar industry.
Approximately 8,000 businesses are licensed by the DSHS to sell consumable hemp products in Texas, including some retailers that also sell alcohol.
Abbott said Sept. 10 that his executive order would provide “safety for kids, freedom for adults.”
“Texas will not wait when it comes to protecting children and families,” he said in a Sept. 10 news release. “While these products would still benefit from the kind of comprehensive regulation set by the Texas Legislature for substances like alcohol and tobacco, my executive order makes sure that kids are kept safe and parents have peace of mind now and that consumers know the products they purchase are tested and labeled responsibly.”
Next steps
The emergency rules from both agencies will be in effect for 120 days—about four months—and can be extended for an additional 60 days.
The TABC will hold an Oct. 9 meeting to discuss the rules with industry stakeholders and is set to propose “substantively similar” permanent rules Nov. 18. If TABC commissioners sign off on the proposed rules in November, they will be published in the Texas Register for public comment and formally adopted in January, TABC communications director Chris Porter said.
Meanwhile, the DSHS is drafting its own permanent rules on the age restriction and “other aspects of the governor’s executive order,” according to an Oct. 3 news release.
Abbott’s order directs state agencies to expand testing and labeling requirements for THC products, increase licensing fees for manufacturers and retailers, and enhance law enforcement monitoring of THC businesses. The TABC, DSHS and the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service are also looking into implementing “a comprehensive regulatory model” such as what Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, proposed in House Bill 309.
Cain filed the 149-page bill in late August, but it did not gain traction before lawmakers left Austin about a week later. The bill would have created a state council to develop rules for THC products and businesses, including some of the measures requested by the governor.
How we got here
Abbott issued the executive order after Texas Republicans spent months debating how to best rein in the state’s consumable hemp industry and shield minors from accessing the products.
Legislators voted to ban all hemp-derived THC products in May, but Abbott vetoed that bill one month later, citing “undeniable” legal defects in the legislation and encouraging policymakers to consider THC regulations with “strict enforcement by an agency like the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.” Lawmakers remained at an impasse on THC regulations after two special legislative sessions this summer.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who made banning THC one of his top priorities this year, said in a Sept. 12 statement that he was concerned hemp retailers would continue “selling dangerous THC products to kids and teens” without an outright ban.
“I am and will always be against any pathway that could open the door to recreational marijuana in our state,” Patrick said. "We do not want to be another failed Colorado.”
During a Sept. 23 TABC meeting, Lukas Gilkey, the CEO of Austin-based hemp retailer Hometown Hero, said he was grateful the commission was working to prohibit THC sales to minors.
“It's been something that [THC retailers] have wanted for a very long time and have struggled to get,” Gilkey told the commissioners. “So it's an honor to be here and work with you.”
Betsy Jones, the policy and strategy director of Texans for Safe and Drug-Free Youth, urged regulators to work with public health and cannabis policy experts when drafting the final rules.
“Like alcohol, cannabis is not an ordinary commodity. Early cannabis use leads to long-term consequences, including mental health issues like psychosis and depression,” Jones said Sept. 23. “The products we're talking about are available in every community in Texas, in gas stations, vending machines, convenience stores, grocery stores, food trucks. They're marketed to be attractive to kids.”
