Texas Officials Post Hemp Law ‘Checklist’ List To Help Businesses Comply With State Cannabis Rules

Even as Congress is taking steps to reinstitute a federal ban on hemp
products containing THC, Texas officials are distributing a new hemp law
“checklist” list to help businesses comply with recently enacted state
cannabis rules—including age-gating to prevent the sale of intoxicating
cannabinoid products to youth.

In addition to holding a license or registration with the Texas Department
of State Health Services (DSHS), hemp businesses must follow a series of
new regulatory policies if they sell or deliver consumable hemp products
(CHPs), the flyer says.

For each sale or delivery, employees of licensed hemp businesses must
inspect a customer’s ID to determine if they’re at least 21 years old and
the identification is not expired.

“Failure to comply with these requirements is a violation of state law and
regulations,” the notice says, adding that consumable hemp products include
CBD and THC oils, gummies and infused food or drink edibles.

“A CHP is a product processed or manufactured for consumption that contains
hemp, including food, a drug, a device and a cosmetic,” the department said.
“It does not include any consumable hemp product containing a hemp seed, or
hemp seed-derived ingredient used in a manner generally recognized as safe
by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.”

As rules for consumable hemp sales are being implemented Texas, meanwhile,
the U.S. Senate on Monday passed a spending bill that includes
controversial language recriminalizing hemp products containing THC that
industry stakeholders say will seriously jeopardize the market.

Texas’s own Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) took some by surprise by voting against a
motion to table an amendment from Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) that would have
stricken the hemp provisions. But the amendment ultimately didn’t advance,
and the underlying legislation is set to receive a House vote on Wednesday
before potentially going to the president’s desk.

Back in Texas, industry stakeholders and advocates are condemning
congressional efforts to re-criminalize consumable hemp products.

The Texas Hemp Business Council (THBC), for example, said in a statement on
Tuesday that they are “deeply disappointed” by the Senate vote—and they’re
“particularly dismayed” that members declined to take up Paul’s amendment.

“The consequences of this sweeping change are severe and immediate,” THBC
said. “Now the industry is once again caught in the crossfire of a
political showdown, with hemp serving as collateral damage. Congress had
years to address the FDA’s regulatory failures, yet instead of crafting a
science-based solution, a last-minute political deal put the entire sector
at risk.”

DHSH last month formally adopted the set of emergency rules meant to
prevent the sale of intoxicating hemp products to people under 21.

After similar restrictions were implemented by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage
Commission (TABC) in September, DSHS then moved forward with the policies
changes that comply with the governor’s recent executive order on hemp.

The checklist flyer is also being released weeks after regulators with the
Department of Public Safety (DPS) adopted new rules to implement a law significantly
expanding the state’s medical marijuana program.

This specific set of rules will increase the number of licensed
dispensaries, establish security requirements for “satellite” locations and
authorize the revocation of licenses for certain violations.

DPS will ultimately be issuing 12 new licenses for dispensaries across the
state. Currently there are only three. The additional licensees will go
through a competitive process, with officials prioritizing Texas’s public
health regions to optimize access.

Also in line with the state’s medical cannabis expansion law that Gov. Greg
Abbott (R) signed, the state Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC)
proposed rules in September to let physicians recommend new qualifying
conditions for cannabis and to create standards for allowable inhalation
devices.

Meanwhile last month, the head of the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA)
pushed back against a GOP senator’s “incorrect assertions” about the
state’s regulatory compliance with federal hemp laws. But he also signaled
that changes may be coming to measure “total THC” to determine the legality
of hemp products in a way that some stakeholders worry could negatively
impact the industry.

After the legislature failed to pass a controversial bill to ban hemp
products containing THC during two special sessions following the
governor’s veto of a similar measure earlier this year, Abbott signed the
executive order to impose certain restrictions on the market.

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

A White House spokesperson said ahead of the vote that the president
supports the hemp ban provisions.

*Image element courtesy of AnonMoos.*

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Comply With State Cannabis Rules appeared first on Marijuana Moment.