{"id":101415,"date":"2025-12-26T15:59:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-26T15:59:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/101415\/"},"modified":"2025-12-26T15:59:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-26T15:59:09","slug":"texas-alcohol-regulators-set-to-vote-on-hemp-based-thc-rules-early-next-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/101415\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas alcohol regulators set to vote on hemp-based THC rules early next year"},"content":{"rendered":"

AUSTIN \u2014 As the smoke clears in Washington after Congress<\/a> voted to ban all consumable hemp products nationally starting next year, state regulators in Austin have begun taking opinions from the public on how to move forward with new rules for retailers of gummies, drinks, snacks and smokeable flowers that contain intoxicating levels of hemp-derived THC or similar compounds.<\/p>\n

The executive order to forge ahead in support of the state\u2019s burgeoning hemp retail market comes from Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in September, who at the beginning of the summer vetoed a statewide ban on intoxicating products containing tetrahydrocannabinol \u2014 the compound found in marijuana, a sister to the hemp plant.<\/p>\n

And while Abbott appears to be in direct opposition to those in Washington who voted to shut down the industry he helped save, that could change if Congress manages to craft and pass a more structured regulatory system for the products before the ban begins in November 2026. <\/p>\n

That gives hope to retailers in Texas who still see the potential for doing business in the future if the state can stabilize its regulations, and as politicians in Washington \u2014 who include U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Houston \u2014 rail against efforts to shut down the entire industry. <\/p>\n

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\u201cShould we really be regulating this from the federal level? We\u2019ve had the debate already in Texas. I\u2019m sure we will continue to have it,\u201d Crenshaw posted on X after the federal vote.<\/p>\n

John Lutz, vice president of food and marketing at Toot \u2018n Totum Food Stores, a family-owned convenience store chain that serves West Texas, told Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission members last week that his company plans to start selling THC products \u2014 betting on the increasing awareness and acceptance of the hemp products even amid the uncertainty. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a year,\u201d Lutz testified at a hearing in November. \u201cI\u2019m sure there are people that have far more influence than we do in terms of influencing what could happen within the year. What we know is that THC is a huge industry in Texas, and there are a lot of consumers who use THC in Texas. \u2026 We are confident that we can be a highly responsible channel to distribute these products in the most effective and protective way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abbott\u2019s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment.<\/p>\n

The hearings by the TABC began less than a week after President Donald Trump signed a package<\/a> of budget bills on Nov. 12 that restarted the federal government after a 43-day shutdown \u2014 a deal that ended the historic stalemate but included a total ban on the consumable hemp products that had been legal since a 2018 federal farm bill. <\/p>\n

Texas has seen the number of licensed hemp-based THC retailers grow to 9,218, which include not just convenience stores and smoke shops that sell edibles and drinks, but also salons that use lotions and products made with hemp-derived compounds, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.<\/p>\n

In September, Abbott directed the TABC to create permanent rules for the retailers under their direction \u2014 those that sell or serve alcohol \u2014 who have added or plan to add the other products to their shelves. <\/p>\n

State officials immediately issued emergency rules<\/a> requiring every retailer in Texas to begin verifying the ages of their hemp consumers to make sure they are 21 or older. Violations could result in suspension of their retail license or revocation or their TABC license \u2014 which would also prohibit them from serving alcohol. Many bars and restaurants serve THC-infused drinks, subject to the same age limits as alcohol under the new rules.<\/p>\n

During a TABC meeting on Nov. 17, commissioners voted to take public input on a permanent version of those rules through Jan. 4, after which the commission would vote on formal adoption. Another public hearing was held on Dec. 11.<\/p>\n

The main sticking point on the new rules was the current \u201cone-strike\u201d provision that could result in a retailer losing their entire business over a single violation. The new proposal removes that and institutes a more graduated system of penalties based on number and severity of the violations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to seeing what you have proposed as a veteran, as a constituent,\u201d Shaun Salvaje, a pro-hemp activist, told commissioners. \u201cI\u2019m really looking forward to seeing Texas do this completely differently from any other state. I think we can actually get it right.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AUSTIN \u2014 As the smoke clears in Washington after Congress voted to ban all consumable hemp products nationally…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":101416,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[132,2671,392,287,27,29,293,28],"class_list":{"0":"post-101415","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-texas","8":"tag-austin","9":"tag-congress","10":"tag-greg-abbott","11":"tag-politics","12":"tag-texas","13":"tag-texas-headlines","14":"tag-texas-legislature","15":"tag-texas-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}