Why Is Texas Supporting Psychedelics Research While Criminalizing Cannabis? (Op-Ed)

“This move by Texas officials to expand psychedelics research while maintaining broad cannabis prohibition and considering banning hemp products as well isn’t just hypocritical. It’s illogical.”

By Adam Stettner, FundCanna

Texas just announced it will invest $50 million into studying ibogaine, a powerful psychedelic drug that remains illegal at the federal level. The goal? To develop it into a potential Food and Drug Administration-approved treatment for conditions like opioid use disorder, PTSD and depression; especially among veterans.

On the surface, this might sound like a bold and progressive move. But here’s the irony: at the very same time, Texas continues to criminalize cannabis and might soon even outlaw hemp-derived THC products.

Let’s break this down. Cannabis, a plant with centuries of use, decades of medical data and broad public support remains illegal for adult use in Texas. Despite overwhelming national support for legalization—a staggering 88 percent of Americans now back medical or recreational cannabis use)—the state has chosen to double down on prohibition, with lawmakers sending Gov. Greg Abbott (R) a bill that would outlaw consumable hemp products with any traces of THC. He has until Sunday to decide whether to allow that ban to take effect.

Even worse, prohibition isn’t stopping anything. The black market is thriving in Texas. Cartels and illicit operators flood the state with unregulated, untested cannabis. No taxes are collected, no consumer protections exist and legal hemp retailers are now being threatened. It is a misguided public safety argument deluded by a lack of facts and science, political conservatism, contradictory business objectives and outdated stigmas.

Meanwhile, ibogaine, a hallucinogenic alkaloid that can induce intense psychedelic experiences, is now the subject of a $50 million state-funded research push. The same lawmakers who claim cannabis is too dangerous and not well studied are throwing their support behind a compound with far less research and much more uncertainty with the intent of studying it.

This isn’t a critique of psychedelic medicine. Ibogaine may very well hold incredible therapeutic value. But if Texas is willing to support cutting-edge, controversial treatments for serious mental health and addiction issues, why not start with widely available data and access to cannabis? Cannabis has already been shown to help with chronic pain, anxiety, sleep, seizures and opioid dependency.

As for our brave veterans, 41 percent of our military veterans that use cannabis say their use is medicinal and nearly all Veterans that use cannabis say the plant has helped them. According to the VA, about 1.1 million vets live with PTSD and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Library of Medicine reports cannabis has been shown to assist Canadian veterans. Cannabis is federally legal in Canada, where the federal government has chosen to reimburse veterans for cannabis use for over 18,000 veterans, all of whom claim it has helped with pain, sleep, PTSD and emotional distress. NIH and Veterans of Foreign Wars have both quoted studies that show cannabis benefits veterans. THC has been shown to assist veterans with PTSD, anxiety, depression and nightmares.

This move by Texas officials to expand psychedelics research while maintaining broad cannabis prohibition and considering banning hemp products as well isn’t just hypocritical. It’s illogical. If Texas genuinely wants to support veterans, reduce opioid deaths and improve mental health outcomes for their citizens, it would be significantly more logical to first legalize and regulate cannabis. Doing so would generate tax revenue, reduce black market activity and provide immediate, research-backed relief to people in need.

Instead, Texas is sending mixed messages. On one hand, it claims to be forward-thinking and compassionate, funding research on experimental psychedelics. On the other, it continues to criminalize a plant that’s already helping millions of people nationwide.

You don’t need to be a doctor or a policy expert to see how backwards this is. It’s not about safety, science or public health. It’s about politics. And in the meantime, Texans are paying the price through lost tax revenue, criminal convictions and lack of access to safe, legal cannabis medicine—something nearly 85 percent of the country already has.

If Texas really wants to be a leader in the future of plant-based medicine, here’s a thought: start with cannabis.

Adam Stettner is an entrepreneur, financial executive, and founder/CEO of FundCanna, a leading provider of financial solutions for the cannabis industry. With over 30 years of experience in business and capital markets, throughout his career he has funded over $20 billion to consumers and businesses nationwide, he is a vocal advocate for balanced, logical, data-driven policy and law in emerging or underserved industries.

Federal Bill Would ‘Effectively’ Ban All Consumable Hemp Products—’Including CBD’—Congressional Researchers Say

Image element courtesy of AnonMoos.