The Brief
After months of delays, Texas’ new THC regulations are set to take effect Friday.
The Texas Supreme Court cleared the way for lawsuits over the regulations to proceed but allowed the rules to be enforced in the meantime.
The so-called “Total THC” rules limit the amount of THC allowed in consumable hemp products.
AUSTIN, Texas – After months of back-and-forth in court, new THC rules are set to go into effect Friday in Texas.
What we know
The so-called “Total THC” rules were supposed to take effect March 31, but have been paused several times since then through court injunctions. In May, the Texas Supreme Court ruled in an essentially unanimous decision that the Department of State Health Services has broad authority to regulate substances.
The ruling allowed officials to move ahead with plans to enforce the new rules while lawsuits about them play out.
DSHS announced its intention in the July 10 issue of the Texas Register to reinstate the new THC rules.
By the numbers
At the heart of the new regulations a 0.3% THC limit for consumable hemp products. The rules also required testing as well as child-resistant packaging and testing. Licensing fees for retailers were also hiked from about $250 to $10,000 in some cases.
Kaab Malik, owner of iVape ATX, reaches for a strain of smokeable hemp at his shop on Guadalupe Street in Austin, Monday, March 30, 2026.
(Mikala Compton/The Austin American-Statesman / Getty Images)
What they’re saying
Advocates for the hemp industry have said the rules would essentially force them to discard a large amount of inventory, and run them out of business.
Attorneys for the state have called THC-A, a non-intoxicating compound found in most smokable hemp products, “marijuana in waiting” since it converts to an intoxicating form of THC called Delta-9 when heated.
What’s next
During a hearing in early July, Republican State Sen. Charles Perry, of Lubbock, said he plans to bring up a new bill during the upcoming Texas legislative session to ban THC. He was the author of a similar bill in 2025 that was later vetoed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has already charged a state Senate committee to begin studying “the impact of THC on increased health care costs, mental health emergency detentions, and the risk of being diagnosed with a THC-induced psychotic disorder.”
The legislative session begins Jan. 12.
The Source
Information in this story came from the Department of State Health Services and previous FOX Local reporting.