Texas Officials Are Moving Forward With Hemp Regulations Despite Newly Approved Federal Ban

*“You have a unique opportunity to regulate an industry that is built by
Texans for Texans.”*

*By Paul Cobler, The Texas Tribune*

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission moved forward on Tuesday with its
efforts to regulate the sale of consumable hemp products as questions
swirled around the future of the industry due to federal restrictions on
the products approved by Congress last week.

A provision of the funding bill for the U.S. Department of Agriculture that
ended the longest government shutdown on record also undid a provision of
the 2018 farm bill that first allowed Texas’s $8 billion hemp industry to
thrive.

The funding bill bans the sale of hemp-derived products with more than 0.4
milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive element also
found in marijuana. That provision, which criminalizes almost all
consumable hemp products sold across the country, will put Texas’s law in
direct conflict with the federal law when it takes effect next November.

In spite of the impending federal restrictions, TABC intends to proceed
with the adoption of permanent regulations on the hemp industry in Texas
that will replace emergency rules adopted by the commission in September
that barred the sale of THC products to anyone younger than 21. Advocates
and trade representatives who testified at the TABC meeting Tuesday said
they do not expect the federal restrictions to be the final word on the
debate.

“What we understand is this is still a conversation that is happening at
[the federal] level,” Shaun Salvaje, a veteran who uses consumable hemp
products and an advocate for cannabis reform, told the commission. “You
have a unique opportunity to regulate an industry that is built by Texans
for Texans.”

The commissioners are following the executive order Gov. Greg Abbott (R)
issued in September that directed both TABC and the Department of State
Health Services to impose stricter regulations on the hemp businesses they
license, like an age restriction on sales to minors and mandatory ID
verification at the point of sale.

That executive order came after Abbott in June vetoed a legislative ban on
the products and the Legislature was unable to come to a consensus on
regulations during two special sessions this summer.

DSHS in October approved its own emergency rules that require sellers of
consumable hemp to verify with a valid ID that a customer is at least 21
years old, violations of which may lead to the revocation of a license or
registration.
TABC’s latest proposed rules

TABC’s proposed permanent rules were introduced at the Tuesday meeting, and
commissioners also voted to begin a public input period that will conclude
on January 4. The commission will vote on the formal adoption of the
regulations in January.

TABC’s proposed rules are largely aligned with the emergency rules it
approved in September, but pulls back on some of the stricter measures. The
new proposal removes a “one strike” provision that allows TABC to revoke
the license of any business found to have sold the products to a minor or
failed to check ID. The permanent rules allow for the agency to temporarily
suspend licenses for less egregious violations.

Two trade group representatives of convenience stores in the state
testified that they support a less punitive approach to potential
violations, arguing the automatic cancellation under the emergency rules
risks putting stores out of business over a simple mistake.

TABC’s permanent rules would apply to businesses that have liquor licenses
and sell hemp products, such as restaurants and bars that sell THC drinks
and convenience stores that sell both alcohol and THC products.

Further public comment will take place over the coming weeks both submitted
and at a public hearing planned for December 11, TABC staff said.
Another fight for the hemp industry

Commissioner Hasan K. Mack said the agency intends to act “regardless of
the actions at the federal level.”

“We’re going to do what the governor tells us we need to do… That’s all we
can do right now until we get further guidance from the governor’s office,”
Mack said. “There is no benefit in allowing underage Texans to consume hemp
products.”

Abbott has not provided additional guidance to the agencies since the
federal restrictions were approved, and his office did not respond to a
request for comment Tuesday.

The federal restrictions signed by President Donald Trump last week invoke
a sense of déjà vu in Texas, where advocates and trade groups sprung into
action following the legislative approval of a ban on the sale of the
products this spring. After weeks of lobbying the governor’s office, Abbott
split from more conservative members of his party and vetoed the ban,
citing the industry’s economic impact.

The industry is gearing up for a similar fight, this time in Washington.

“Hemp is too vital to the American economy and to the livelihoods of
millions to be dismantled by rushed, politically driven legislation,” the
Texas Hemp Business Council said in a statement last week. “As we proved in
Texas, we will continue to pursue every legal and legislative option to
overturn these harmful provisions and restore a fair, science-based system
that continues to protect minors, ensure product safety and preserve the
economic opportunities Congress created in 2018.”

It is also unclear how aggressively the federal restrictions will be
enforced once they go into effect. Since 1970, marijuana, hemp’s cousin,
has been classified as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances
Act, the most restrictive classification, but that prohibition is generally
not enforced in states where it is legal. There are 40 states, including
Texas, that have medical marijuana programs. In 24 states, marijuana is
legal for recreational use.

Like in Texas, all branches of the federal government are controlled by the
Republican Party, which has historically been more hostile to recreational
cannabis use. However, political winds have changed in recent years.

U.S. Reps. Dan Crenshaw, R-Houston, and Troy Nehls, R-Richmond, both voted
in favor of the funding bill that included the restrictions, citing the
need to end the government shutdown as quickly as possible. They both also
said they oppose the federal restrictions on the hemp industry and hope
Congress will address the issue again.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was one of two Republican senators to vote in favor of
a failed amendment that would have removed the restrictions from the
funding bill.

Even Trump, who the White House said was supportive of the restrictions in
the funding bill, in September posted a video that endorsed Medicare
coverage of CBD—a cannabidiol substance derived from the cannabis plant
that would also likely be federally banned by the new restrictions.

As cannabis and hemp-derived products have become more common throughout
the country, Texas Cannabis Policy director Heather Fazio said much of the
taboo around their use has fallen away, allowing for the issue to become
more bipartisan. The debate at the federal level comes at a moment where
the industry is maturing and ready to wade into the world of political
lobbying, Fazio said.

“We’ve come to a place, at least in Texas, where THC is a legal commodity
that responsible adults are enjoying, and it came about in a way that was
much different than many of us would have expected,” Fazio said. “Now, to
have this big wall that we hit at the federal level, thank goodness for the
one year lead time we have because I think we’re going to have some
significant lobbying efforts step up. For the industry, we need to treat
this like a political movement.”

This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.

The post Texas Officials Are Moving Forward With Hemp Regulations Despite
Newly Approved Federal Ban appeared first on Marijuana Moment.