Texas Governor Says ‘Stay Tuned’ For Action On Hemp THC Products That Could Be ‘Happening Soon’

The Republican governor of Texas says people should “stay tuned” on future action to regulate hemp products containing THC after the legislature failed to address the issue this year.

Without going into details, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signaled on Friday that the issue isn’t going away—even after lawmakers were unable to pass legislation to address intoxicating hemp products during two consecutive special sessions he convened this summer.

The governor hasn’t been a proponent of an outright ban that some Republican lawmakers have pushed, and has instead called for a regulatory model focused on age limits and public health. Abbott went so far as to veto a ban bill during the regular session, and so it remains to be seen what type of forthcoming action he’s expecting to see.

“I would say stay tuned on that,” the governor said with a grin on Friday when asked by a reporter whether he was willing to wait until the next regular session in 2027 to address the issue or if he might instead convene another special session early next year. “Something might be happening soon.”

The primary reason for the special sessions was to pass an electoral redistricting bill that would likely benefit conservative candidates. But both times, measures were also filed to prohibit hemp with any quantifiable amount of THC, which industry stakeholders have said would effectively eradicate the market.

.@KoskionFOX7 asked Gov. @GregAbbott_TX if he will call lawmakers back to pass THC legislation soon or wait until 2027. Abbott said "stay tuned" #txlege@FOX4@fox7austinpic.twitter.com/IEhenSPeP2

— Steven Dial (@StevenDialFox4) September 5, 2025

Last month—shortly after the governor signed a proclamation to convene a second special legislative session—the Senate passed the hemp ban measure again, sending it back to the House. The prior version didn’t advance in the chamber, due in large part to the fact that many Democrats left the state to prevent a quorum that would be necessary to pass a redistricting measure.

Abbott vetoed an earlier version of the controversial proposal that passed during this year’s regular session, and he more recently outlined what he’d like to see in a revised version of the bill.

Some, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) and Senate bill sponsor Perry, have insisted that an outright ban is a public safety imperative to rid the state of intoxicating products that have proliferated since the crop was federally legalized in 2018. Others say the legislature should instead enact regulations for the market to prevent youth access while still allowing adults 21 and older to access the products and preserving the massive industry.

During the first special session, Rep. Nicole Collier (D) introduced a one-page bill, HB 42, designed to protect consumers in the state from criminal charges if what they believed was a legal hemp product turned out to contain excessive amounts of THC, making it illegal marijuana. It would prevent the criminalization of someone found in possession of a product that’s labeled as hemp but is determined to contain “a controlled substance or marihuana.”

In order for the person to obtain the legal protection, the product would need to have been purchased “from a retailer the person reasonably believed was authorized to sell a consumable hemp product.”

Another bill—HB 195, introduced by Rep. Jessica González (D)—would legalize marijuana for people 21 and older, allowing possession of up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis, with no more than 15 grams of that amount being in concentrated form.

Yet another proposal would order state officials to conduct a study on testing for THC intoxication.

Meanwhile, the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) has separately taken steps to implement medical cannabis expansion with proposed rules to let physicians recommend new qualifying conditions for cannabis and create standards for allowable inhalation devices.

—Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.

Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.—

As for what Texans themselves want to see from their representatives, proponents of reining in the largely unregulated intoxicating hemp industry in Texas shared new polling data indicating that majorities of respondents from both major political parties support outlawing synthetic cannabinoids, such as delta-8 THC.

The survey also found that respondents would rather obtain therapeutic cannabis products through a state-licensed medical marijuana program than from a “smoke shop selling unregulated and untested hemp.”

Ahead of the governor’s veto in June of SB 3—the earlier hemp product ban—advocates and stakeholders had delivered more than 100,000 petition signatures asking Abbott to reject the measure. Critics argued that the industry—which employs an estimated 53,000 people—would be decimated if the measure became law.

Image element courtesy of AnonMoos.

Texas Senate Committee Approves Hemp THC Product Ban As Governor Seems To Shift His Position After Vetoing Similar Bill

A Texas Senate committee on Tuesday unanimously advanced a recently introduced bill that would outlaw all hemp products containing any detectable amount of THC or any cannabinoid besides CBD and cannabigerol (CBG), passing a proposal on a 10–0 vote that would impose a hemp product ban almost identical to one vetoed by Gov. Greg Abbott (R) last month.

But despite his recent veto, the governor reportedly said on Tuesday that he’s now open to a broad ban. Details of his pivot, however, remain murky, as his comments suggested that products with very small amounts of THC would remain legal—which would not be the case under the current legislation.

SB 5—introduced on Monday by Sen. Charles Perry (R) as the state’s special legislative session kicked off this week—would set a blanket ban on products containing any “detectable amount of any cannabinoid” other than the non-psychoactive CBD and CBG.

The proposal essentially revives SB 3, a hemp ban bill that was passed by lawmakers during this year’s regular session but subsequently vetoed by Abbott. It similarly would have barred products containing any detectable amount of THC or other cannabinoids.

The governor has previously said that instead of a blanket ban, he supports regulation of hemp products containing THC—for example age limits and safety testing. Others, however—including Lt. Gov. Patrick (R), who backed SB 3—has accused the governor of wanting to legalize adult-use cannabis because he rejected that legislation.

SB 5 is on track to continue regulate-versus-ban debate. At the beginning of Tuesday’s hearing of the Senate Committee on State Affairs, sponsor Perry quipped that it felt “a little [like] Groundhog Day,” a film in which the protagonist relives the same day over and over.

“Regulationdoesn’twork,” the lawmaker emphasized to the panel, accusing product manufacturers of “sneaky science” to make intoxicating products available in the state despite existing limits on delta-9 THC, the primary psychoactive compound in conventional marijuana. He further asserted that the industry was taking advantage of a lack of regulations around other cannabinoids, such as delta-8 THC, a psychoactive compound typically created through a chemical conversion process involving legal hemp.

Members of the Senate committee broadly applauded Perry’s reintroduction of legislation to ban broad swaths of products currently available in the state.

“Thank you, Sen. Perry,” Sen. Bob Hall (R) said. “Thank you for your hard work and for the details in which you destroyed all the arguments in favor of free market for these drugs that are out there.”

“It’s obvious that the opposition based all their argument—not parts, all of their argument—on outright lies and misrepresentations,” Hall claimed.” You clearly show that there is no significant impact businesses out there as a result of this.”

Perry said that in addition to CBD and CBG, which he noted are generally recognized as safe, his measure would allow hulled hemp seeds, hemp seed protein powder and hemp seed oil, all of which are currently legal under federal law.

“I get the question, ‘Do CBD or CBG get you high?'” the senator told colleagues. “And the answer is absolutely not, and that’s why they’re specifically exempted through the federal [law] and will be exempted through SB 5.”

During public comment, however, some speakers pointed out that other nonintoxicating cannabinoids, such as cannabinol (CBN), would be prohibited under the bill. Others noted that isolating CBD and CBG can involve chemical processes of the type Perry says that he’s against.

Among the SB 5’s most ardent supporters at Tuesday’s hearing were law enforcement representatives, who made up the bulk of the committee’s invited testimony. Speakers tied the availability of THC hemp products to youth use, criminality and public health hazards, including cannabis-induced psychosis. Many related stories of violent crimes they said were the result of hemp-derived THC products that became available after passage of the 2018 federal Farm Bill.

Perry, for his part, also made assertions about the dangers of THC, claiming that the drug is more dangerous than alcohol and suggesting that marijuana may have been a cause of the mass shooting at an elementary school in the city of Uvalde.

Senator Perry just alluded to the Uvalde shooter as possibly committing that atrocity because of cannabis use. Sickening. #txlege

— Texas Cannabis Collective (@txcannaco) July 22, 2025

In response to questions from senators, most law enforcement speakers said they supported an all-out ban on hemp products containing any THC rather than attempts at regulation. Some later added, however, that they felt the state’s limited medical marijuana program, known as the Texas Compassionate Use Program (TCUP), should be expanded to ease access by patients—especially military veterans—who could benefit from therapeutic cannabis.

Notably, Abbott in June signed a bill into law that expanded the state’s list of medical cannabis qualifying conditions, adding chronic pain, traumatic brain injury (TBI), Crohn’s disease and other inflammatory bowel diseases, while also allowing end-of-life patients in palliative or hospice care to use marijuana.

Among those who spoke against SB 5 at the hearing were hemp business owners, industry representatives and people who use hemp-derived cannabinoids to manage PTSD and other health conditions. One opponent who is enrolled as a state-legal medical marijuana patient pointed out that a package of gummies costs $75 through the state’s medical cannabis market, while a similar hemp-derived product is available just $16.

“This company makes a really really good nighttime gummy that helps me sleep,” she said of the hemp product. “TCUP does not.”

Other critics who spoke at the hearing—in particular hemp product retailers and manufacturers—emphasized that banning products that contain any THC whatsoever would devastate small businesses.

A representative of Rock ‘N’ Roll It Smoke and Vape Shop, for one, said the measure would ban products that provide the most revenue to the company’s nearly 100 shops, likely leading the business to close its shops and lay off some of its approximately 400 workers.

“We service members of our community: police officers, whether they’d admit it or not, and EMS workers,” he said. “People that work in these fields—that have spoken today, who oppose this—actually come in and purchase a large majority of our products.”

Many retailers who testified said they already restrict intoxicating hemp product sales to adults only, with one saying he supported jail time for people who sell the products to minors.

Nicole D’Ortona, representing the Hemp Small Business Council, stressed to lawmakers that “Texans are asking for fairness, not a ban” on hemp products.

“What the public wants is reasonable regulation, not another blanket ban,” she said. “That’s why we’re strongly supporting a responsible regulatory alternative that provides guardrails while preserving freedom and economic opportunity for Texas businesses and consumers.”

“The industry would love to see regulations limiting sales to individuals 21 and older, child-resistant packaging, setbacks from schools, marketing limitations and more that we’ve been advocating for since the last session,” D’Ortona continued. “Additionally we have begged for the enforcement of bad actors.”

“More than 50,000 jobs, nearly $300 million in annual sales tax revenue and $2.1 billion in annual wages are at stake,” she added.

Hours into the hearing, senators became aware of news reports that Abbott apparently was in support of a hemp product ban. But the governor’s new comments on the issue, first reported by Community Impact, were unclear, suggesting that products with very low levels of THC should in fact be permitted.

“The only hemp product that’s going to be out there is non-intoxicating hemp,” the outlet quoted the governor as saying, “which is below 3 milligrams of THC.”

SB 5, in contrast to Abbott’s comments, would outlaw products that fall far below that threshold, banning any detectable amount of THC.

Despite the confusion, the governor’s comments seemed to express openness to working with the new legislation.

“My overall goal is to protect the lives of children while at the same time protecting the liberty of adults to use a nonintoxicating product,” Abbott told Community Impact in an interview at the state capitol. “The way that we protect the lives of children is to completely ban any type of THC product, any type of hemp and any type of marijuana.”

He further proposed that members of the state’s hemp industry be required to purchase “a certificate and a license” to remain operational.

“The money that will come in from that will provide the resources to law enforcement to fully enforce this regulatory system,” Abbott said. “There’s going to be a more structured retail system only authorized [for] people who have a license to provide [hemp], and it’s going to be done in a safe, secure way that doesn’t interfere with communities.”

SB 5 is among a small handful of bills introduced for the new special session to address consumable hemp products.

Among the other proposals are measures to require extensive product warning labels and limit how hemp products are packaged.

Abbott has specifically asked lawmakers to prioritize hemp regulatory issues during the special session that kicked off on Monday. Two other newly introduced bills are HB 160 from Rep. Charlene Ward Johnson (D) and SB 39 from Sen. Judith Zaffirini (D).

The former would require a number of warning labels to be carried on hemp products with any more than trace amounts of THC, cautioning that the products can cause “cannabis poisoning that can be life-threatening to children,” harm brain development in youth, increase “risk of mental disorders like psychosis and schizophrenia” and lead to anxiety, depression and substance abuse disorders.

SB 39, meanwhile, would prohibit hemp products from being packaged or marketed “in a manner attractive to children,” limiting packaging shaped like humans, animals, fruit, cartoons or “another shape that is attractive to minors” as well as packaging that looks similar to legal products already marketed to children, for example candy or juice. It would also outlaw misleading product packaging. Violations would be a Class A misdemeanor, carrying up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

Separately, last week Rep. Nicole Collier (D) introduced a one-page bill, HB 42, designed to protect consumers in the state from criminal charges if what they believed was a legal hemp product turned out to contain excessive amounts of THC, making it illegal marijuana. It would prevent the criminalization of someone found in possession of a product that’s labeled as hemp but is determined to contain “a controlled substance or marihuana.”

In order for the person to obtain the legal protection, the product would need to have been purchased “from a retailer the person reasonably believed was authorized to sell a consumable hemp product.”

Despite his new comments this week, the governor said last month that rather than ban consumable hemp products outright, he wants to see lawmakers establish a regulatory framework that treats cannabinoids “similar to the way alcohol is regulated.”

Lt. Gov. Patrick this week, by contrast, reiterated his support for an all-out ban, saying on Monday that “regulating THC for 21+ in TX is a backdoor way to legalize recreational marijuana. Law enforcement is against regulation & supports a full ban.”

Regulating THC for 21+ in TX is a backdoor way to legalize recreational marijuana. Law enforcement is against regulation & supports a full ban. Texas has a robust program for those in need of medical THC for cancer, PTSD, & other issues.

— Office of the Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick (@LtGovTX) July 21, 2025

Earlier this month, ahead of the special legislative session, Abbott urged lawmakers to prioritize two specific reforms.

One was aimed at preventing access by minors, “making it a crime to provide hemp-derived products to children under 21 years of age.”

The other, under the heading “regulate hemp-derived products,” requested a measure “to comprehensively regulate hemp-derived products, including limiting potency, restricting synthetically modified compounds, and establishing enforcement mechanisms, all without banning a lawful agricultural commodity.”

SB 5 would double down on the all-out ban.

Heather Fazio, a cannabis reform advocate and director of the Texas Cannabis Policy Center, criticized the renewed effort in an email Monday to Marijuana Moment.

“It seems clear that the Senate is committed to empowering the illicit market by prohibiting the legal sale of THC,” she wrote. “They would prefer drug dealers profit rather than licensed and regulated businesses.”

“Worse,” Fazio added, “SB 5 criminalizes the possession of federally legal hemp products that have any amount of THC. This sets Texas on a path to needlessly arrest and prosecute tens of thousands of people.”

It would be a Class B misdemeanor under the proposal if a person “distributes, delivers, sells, purchases, possesses, or uses a consumable hemp product” that is not registered with the state and compliant with the strict standards. A Class B misdemeanor is punishable in the state by up to 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine.

“If Senator Perry and Lt. Gov. Patrick were serious about restricting youth access,” Fazio said in her recent email, “they would institute age restrictions for THC products with penalties for anyone who sells to minors. That’s what we should be focused on, rather than re-criminalizing responsible adults who choose to enjoy THC.”

(Disclosure: Fazio supports Marijuana Moment’s work via a monthly Patreon pledge.)

Lawmakers at Tuesday’s hearing said that criminalization of possession would only kick in on a person’s third offense, however that provision does not seem to be included in the current version of SB 5.

Ahead of the governor’s recent veto of SB 3, hemp advocates and stakeholders had delivered more than 100,000 petition signatures asking Abbott to reject the measure. Critics of the bill argued that the industry—which employs an estimated 53,000 people—would be decimated if the measure became law.

Texas lawmakers legalized the sale of consumable hemp in 2019, following enactment of the 2018 federal Farm Bill, which legalized the plant nationwide. That led to an explosion of products—including edibles, drinks, vape products and cured flower—now sold by an estimated 8,000 retailers.

Military veterans advocates, including Texas Veterans of Foreign Wars, also called on the governor to veto the hemp ban, saying it “would cause irreversible harm to communities across the state.”

Farmers said the prohibition would devastate a key sector of the state’s agriculture industry.

Following his veto, Abbott proposed an extensive list of policy changes that he said he would support—and which the legislature will have the chance to enact during the special session.

“Texans on each side of the Senate Bill 3 debate raise serious concerns. But one thing is clear—to ensure the highest level of safety for minors, as well as for adults, who obtain a product more dangerous than what they expected, Texas must strongly regulate hemp, and it must do so immediately,” Abbott said.

Part of the rationale behind his veto was the risk of litigation over “valid constitutional challenges” that he suggested would hold up in court. Multiple top Texas hemp companies had already filed a preemptive lawsuit challenging the legislation before the governor’s veto.

“If I were to allow Senate Bill 3 to become law, its enforcement would be enjoined for years, leaving existing abuses unaddressed,” Abbott said in his veto message. “Texas cannot afford to wait.”

Rather than face the possibility of having the law enjoined, or indefinitely delayed, the governor said the state “must enact a regulatory framework that protects public safety, aligns with federal law, has a fully funded enforcement structure, and can take effect without delay.”

Here’s the full list of the governor’s recommended hemp regulations noted in his veto message:

• Selling or providing a THC product to a minor must be punishable as a crime.

• Sales must be prohibited near schools, churches, parks, playgrounds, and other areas frequented by children.

• Packaging must be child-resistant, tamper-evident, and resealable;

• Products must not be made, packaged, or marketed in a manner attractive to children.

• Any store selling these products must have a permit and restrict access to anyone under the age of 21, with strict penalties for any retailer that fails to comply.

• Products containing THC may not contain other psychoactive substances (e.g., alcohol, tobacco, kratom).

• Testing must be required at every phase of production and manufacturing, including for both plants and derivative consumable products.

• Manufacturing and processing facilities must be subject to permitting and food safety rules.

• Permit and registration fees must suffice to support robust enforcement and testing by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, in partnership with other state agencies.

• An operator’s permit and warning/danger signs must be posted at any store selling these products.

• Sales must be limited to the hours between 10:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., and prohibited on Sundays.

• The amount of THC permissible in each product must be restricted and an individual may make only a limited number of purchases in a given period of time.

• Labels must include a surgeon general-style warning, a clear disclosure of all ingredients, including the THC content, and a scannable barcode or QR code linking to test results.

• Fraudulently creating or displaying manifests or lab results must be punishable as felony offenses.

• Public consumption, consumption on the premises of any store that sells these products, and possession of an open container in a vehicle must be punishable as crimes.

• The Attorney General, district attorneys, and county attorneys must have authority to pursue violations under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

• Local governments must have the option to prohibit or limit stores selling these products.

• Excise taxes must be assessed on these products to fund oversight and enforcement.

• Additional funding must be provided to ensure law enforcement have sufficient resources to vigorously enforce restrictions.

“This list, of course, is not exhaustive. But it may provide items to consider in a regulatory system that is strict, fair, and legally sustainable,” Abbott said at the time. “Passing a law is not the same thing as actually solving a problem. Texas needs a bill that is enforceable and will make our communities safer today, rather than years from now. Next month, the Legislature will have the opportunity to address this serious issue. I look forward to working with them to ensure that we get it right.”

Meanwhile, a recent survey from a GOP pollster affiliated with President Donald Trump showed that Texas Democratic and Republican voters are unified in their opposition to the hemp ban bill.

Another poll commissioned the Texas Hemp Business Council (THBC) found that Texas Republican primary voters oppose the proposal.

Last month, the governor signed bill to significantly expand the state’s medical marijuana program with new qualifying conditions additional product forms and more dispensary locations.

Abbott separately signed a bill into law to create a state-backed research consortium to conduct clinical trials on ibogaine as a possible treatment for substance use disorders and other mental health conditions. The ultimate goal of the project is to develop the psychedelic into a prescription drug with federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, with the state retaining a portion of the profit.

The measure expands the state’s list of medical cannabis qualifying conditions to include chronic pain, traumatic brain injury (TBI), Crohn’s disease and other inflammatory bowel diseases, while also allowing end-of-life patients in palliative or hospice care to use marijuana.

Separately in Texas, a House committee approved a Senate-passed bill in May that would prohibit cities from putting any citizen initiative on local ballots that would decriminalize marijuana or other controlled substances—as several localities have already done despite lawsuits from the state attorney general.

Under the proposal, state law would be amended to say that local entities “may not place an item on a ballot, including a municipal charter or charter amendment, that would provide that the local entity will not fully enforce” state drug laws.

While several courts have previously upheld local cannabis decriminalization laws, an appellate court comprised of three conservative justices appointed by the governor has recently pushed back against two of those rulings, siding with the state in its legal challenge to the marijuana policy in Austin and San Marcos.

Despite the ongoing litigation and advancement of the House and Senate bills, Texas activists have their targets set on yet another city, Kyle, where they hope put an initiative before voters to enact local marijuana reform at the ballot this coming November.

A recent poll found that four in five Texas voters want to see marijuana legalized in some form, and most also want to see regulations around cannabis relaxed.

Texas GOP Lieutenant Governor’s Push To Ban THC Hemp Products Spurs Rare Backlash From The Right

By Alejandro Serrano, The Texas Tribune

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) was clear from the start.

Weeks before this year’s legislative session began, and before he announced any other priorities, the Republican Senate leader said he wanted lawmakers to ban, at any cost, products that contain the psychoactive compound in weed. His target was the multibillion-dollar hemp industry that had sprouted up thanks to a loophole in a 2019 state law that legalized products providing a similar high to marijuana.

Patrick justified his conviction by contending that retailers had abused that loophole to sell products with dangerous amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. He accused the retailers of preying on the state’s young people with shops posted near schools and marketing aimed at children.

“I couldn’t, in good conscience, leave here knowing if we don’t do something about it in the next two years—how many kids get sick?” Patrick said in March, talking about his willingness to force a special legislative session by blocking must-pass legislation from making it through the Texas Senate.

And ultimately, Patrick got his way—and an explosion of backlash.

As pressure mounts on the governor to veto a THC ban sent to his desk, Patrick finds himself in the unfamiliar position of taking flak from conservative activists and media personalities outside the Capitol, many of whom typically march in political lockstep with a man who has long been a darling of the right and done more than perhaps any other elected official to drive Texas rightward.

After spearheading the THC ban, Patrick has been accused by some on the right of creating a nanny state and giving Mexican drug cartels a business opportunity to fill demand in the black market. He has been labeled a booze lobby shill for beer distributors who stand to benefit. A hardline conservative state lawmaker who voted against the ban said it contradicted “the Texas mantra of being pro-business, pro-farmer and pro-veteran.”

STATE REPRESENTATIVE BRISCOE CAIN STATEMENT ON VOTING NO ON SB 3 pic.twitter.com/rjkfHKtBi3

— State Representative Briscoe Cain (@RepBriscoeCain) May 23, 2025

A Patrick spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.

“This is stupid,” Dana Loesch, the former National Rifle Association spokesperson who is now the host of a nationally syndicated conservative talk radio show, wrote on social media in response to Patrick’s argument that the ban would keep THC away from children. “It’s like the gun ban argument with a different variable. Kids aren’t buying it anymore than any other controlled product (alcohol, cigarettes, et al [sic]) and if they are, do your job as a parent and parent instead of idiotically expanding government.”

Before the blowback erupted from inside his house, Patrick courted Republicans in both chambers of the Legislature to pass Senate Bill 3. The law bans products containing THC—and would eradicate the state’s $8 billion hemp industry and its estimated 50,000 jobs if it survives Gov. Greg Abbott’s veto pen and expected legal challenges.

Abbott, whose office has been inundated with calls to veto SB 3, has not revealed his intentions for the proposed law. The governor could sign SB 3 into law, veto it or do nothing and let it become law without his signature.

This is stupid. It's like the gun ban argument with a different variable. Kids aren't buying it anymore than any other controlled product (alcohol, cigarettes, et al) and if they are, do your job as a parent and parent instead of idiotically expanding government. https://t.co/48BrU448gh

— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) May 29, 2025

Proponents of the ban have argued it is needed to rein in a wild west industry that’s selling products with dangerously high levels of THC and without proper oversight. Patrick has argued it would be unrealistic to regulate the industry under tighter guardrails—as hemp business leaders and others proposed—because doing so would require an impossible amount of manpower.

Lawmakers also passed a bill to expand the state’s medical marijuana program by offering more products and adding more qualifying conditions, an olive branch extension to vets and THC users with chronic conditions who opposed the retail ban.

Patrick said the medical expansion “will help those in true need of relief.” But he and his allies have remained steadfast behind the THC ban, even amid pushback from the right.

Rep. @TomOliverson and I have come to an agreement to add chronic pain as a qualifying medical condition to TCUP (compassionate use program) for those who suffer chronic pain as currently defined by the Texas Medical Board rules. Dr. Oliverson and I have spoken with the author of…

— Office of the Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick (@LtGovTX) May 26, 2025

“Retailers across Texas have exploited a state agriculture law to sell life-threatening, unregulated forms of tetrahydrocannabinol to Texans,” said Sen. Charles Perry, the Lubbock Republican who carried SB 3, when the upper chamber approved the bill. “These rogue retailers are selling THC products containing several times more THC content than marijuana purchased from a drug dealer off the street. These dangerous products must not be allowed to permeate our communities and endanger Texas children.”

Criticism on the right has come from veterans who say they use the products as alternatives to opioid painkillers to help with a variety of ails, industry leaders who say the Republican-controlled state is turning its back on small businesses, and conservative politicos who have no shortage of arrows they have been aiming at Patrick.

“What lives were destroyed by low grade THC shops, Dan? Can you name one?” Kenny Webster, a Houston conservative talk radio host, posted on social media. “Just one. Go ahead.”

What lives were destroyed by low grade THC shops, Dan? Can you name one? Just one. Go ahead. https://t.co/QlwpOuKUTP

— Kenny Webster (@KennethRWebster) May 25, 2025

Some recent scrutiny was driven by a news conference Patrick called to push back on criticism of the ban, even after it had already cleared both chambers and was on its way to Abbott’s desk. Flanked by senators and law enforcement officials, Patrick stood in front of a variety of THC products laid out on a table and made his case.

The lieutenant governor said he wanted to encourage the news media to write about the dangers of THC. He also said he had “total confidence in the governor.… I’m not worried about the governor understanding it. I’m worried about you all understanding it.”

At one point Patrick lobbed a bag of edibles at a reporter. He later asked another reporter if he was “crazy” for inquiring about the move to limit adults’ access to the products.

“If he was trying to make a case for a THC ban, I can’t think of a more bizarre and counterproductive spectacle than yesterday’s press conference,” said Rolando Garcia, a member of the State Republican Executive Committee who routinely criticizes GOP lawmakers for perceived breaches of conservative orthodoxy. “We have a mad king surrounded by courtiers and yes men afraid to tell him he’s making a fool of himself.”

Some opponents of the total ban have vowed retribution against Patrick, who is running for reelection in 2026 armed with an endorsement from President Donald Trump and more than $33 million in his campaign coffers. Those factors—and Patrick’s long history of promoting policies that most primary voters see as higher priorities than preserving THC access—mean it is unlikely the blowback will cost Patrick much, according to political observers.

“It’s hard to imagine given Patrick’s position and where he is now that somehow this is going to be in and of itself the source of some fundamental political threat,” said Jim Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin. “Honestly I think we’re not used to seeing Dan Patrick criticized very much from within his own party and so it’s really sticking out, and that’s fair.”

Meanwhile, another member of the SREC, Morgan Eakin, on social media questioned Patrick’s conservative bona fides by pointing to when Patrick came under fire from his own party over gun rights.

Anybody remember how @DanPatrick was pro gun control and requiring permits and government lists to the degree he would ensure constitution carry wouldn’t pass in the senate….and @DadePhelan was more *pro* 2nd Amendment and it passed the House?

We have to ask ourselves how so… pic.twitter.com/CKMaKF7MHJ

— Morgan Eakin (@Morganisms7) June 8, 2025

As the Legislature in 2021 contemplated letting most Texans carry a handgun without a license or training, Patrick at first said the Senate did not have the votes to pass the measure.

Lawmakers ultimately passed the bill, often referred to by Republicans as constitutional carry because of their belief that it is an American’s constitutional right to pack heat without involving the government.

“We have to ask ourselves how so many were gaslit into believing the Senate and Dan Patrick were consistently more in line with basic constitutional principles and that [former House Speaker Dade Phelan] and the House were unequivocally liberal,” Eakin wrote.

Phelan, a Beaumont Republican who clashed with Patrick during his time as speaker, weighed in on SB 3 Monday, writing on social media that “Texans do not want a total ban.”

Texans do not want a total ban. They do want a reasonable, regulated hemp market free of dangerous products – especially those advertised and sold to minors. The gas station garbage must go while Texans enjoy the freedom they expect from conservative governance. #txlege#SB3https://t.co/5YeOQgh9A4

— Dade Phelan (@DadePhelan) June 9, 2025

“They do want a reasonable, regulated hemp market free of dangerous products—especially those advertised and sold to minors,” wrote Phelan, who ultimately voted for SB 3 but earlier opposed an amendment that changed it from a regulatory bill to a full-on ban. “The gas station garbage must go while Texans enjoy the freedom they expect from conservative governance.”

Despite the blowback, Patrick remains a champion of conservative policies and key player in GOP victories. This session alone, state lawmakers passed stiffer bail laws, required that most sheriffs work with federal immigration authorities and approved measures allowing time for prayer in public schools and requiring classrooms to display the Ten Commandments.

Patrick has rarely taken much heat from his own party. One notable instance was also related to guns after a pair of mass shootings.

In 2019, a gunman wanting to quell an “invasion” of Hispanic immigrants went to a Walmart in El Paso, where he opened fire and murdered 23 people and wounded 22 others. Shortly after that attack, a gunman terrorized Midland and Odessa with a shooting spree that resulted in the deaths of eight people.

Patrick said it was high time the state required background checks on gun sales between strangers.

“Someone in the Republican Party has to take the lead on this,” he said at the time, adding that he was “willing to take an arrow” for the stance.

The backlash, once again, was swift. His conservatism was called into question and some on the right even painted him as a bigger threat to guns than Democrat Beto O’Rourke, who had infamously said during a presidential debate the same year, “Hell yes, we are going to take your AR-15.”

Patrick withstood the pushback. And lawmakers never approved legislation he called for regulating private stranger-to-stranger gun sales. Since allowing permitless carry in 2021, lawmakers have expanded access to firearms, including with a bill this year to legalize sawed-off shotguns, among other victories for gun rights advocates.

The lack of fallout from Patrick’s push to regulate private gun sales may offer a clue about how the SB 3 situation will shake out. Patrick received 77 percent of the 2022 GOP primary vote against only token opposition, and he was easily reelected in November.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/10/dan-patrick-texas-thc-ban-republican-gop-backlash/.

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.

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Photo courtesy of Brendan Cleak.