CANYON, Texas (KVII) — Starting Tuesday, Texas shops will be required to pull smokable hemp products off their shelves, a change business owners say could lead to major losses and, for some, could determine whether they stay open.

Under the new rules, Texans will no longer be able to purchase any smokable hemp products, including flower hemp and pre-rolled joints.

Brandon Summers, executive manager of Canyon Hemp Company, said the impact on the industry will be significant.

“This will be the biggest hit to the industry other than outright prohibition of all cannabinoids,” Summers said.

Summers said the company plans to shift its product focus immediately.

“Immediately, day one, we’re going to move into more of a beverages, edibles, tinctures, and topicals model and move away from our smokable model. We’re going to see the views immediately. And 40% of our revenue from flower for flower and smokable products. Hemp is a massive amount of our sales. It’s a massive amount of the best part of the entire industry,” Summers said.

Nick Gray, owner of Canyon Hemp Company, said smokable hemp products are essential for many of the shop’s customers.

“80, 90% of our customers are, you know, medical use first responders, whether it be for anxiety, sleep, depression or hunger issues. It’s amazing what people use it for,” Gray said.

Attorney Ryan Brown said it is not illegal to possess smokable hemp products and that the regulations only affect businesses. Brown said he expects consumers to look elsewhere for the products.

“People are going to order them from out of state, which is going to help out-of-state businesses and hurt Texas businesses. Or they’re going to get them off the streets, which is going to help criminals. And so, you know, I don’t think that this is going to have the purpose and accomplish the goals that a lot of Texans want,” Brown said.

Businesses caught selling noncompliant products could face penalties, including license revocation and up to $10,000 in fines.

“I’m not sure what these regulations will accomplish other than shutting down businesses and hurting the Texas economy,” Brown said.

Texas ban on smokable hemp takes effect Tuesday, forcing shops to pull popular products (KVII)