{"id":230949,"date":"2026-04-01T23:21:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T23:21:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/230949\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T23:21:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T23:21:13","slug":"el-paso-smoke-shops-brace-for-hemp-ban-under-new-texas-law-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/230949\/","title":{"rendered":"El Paso smoke shops brace for hemp ban under new Texas law"},"content":{"rendered":"

EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14\/CBS4) \u2014 Big changes are coming to Texas smoke shops starting Tuesday, as new state regulations cap the amount of total THC allowed in smokable products and effectively remove many hemp-derived items from store shelves.<\/p>\n

New rules issued by the Texas Department of State Health Services cap total THC in any smokable products at 0.3%. <\/p>\n

The move essentially bans products like hemp flower and pre-rolls.<\/p>\n

Attorney Brock Benjamin said the smokable flower many people have been buying \u201cwas, for lack of a better term, low THC,\u201d but \u201cis not low enough anymore,\u201d adding that the state has \u201clowered that floor down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Destiny Venecia reports on the hemp product ban affecting shops.<\/p>\n

Benjamin said smokable hemp products are now being treated like marijuana under the new classification.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s essentially been classified, so to speak, as marijuana,\u201d Benjamin said. \u201cAnd so marijuana under four ounces is a class B misdemeanor, above four ounces is class A.\u201d He said the statute \u201cis going to start on March 31st\u201d and will be \u201ctreated reclassified as regular marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n

RELATED: Texas will ban smokeable hemp cannabis on March 31. Here’s what you need to know<\/a><\/p>\n

Benjamin said the changes also include child-resistant packaging, stricter testing, and raising the age to purchase to 21. <\/p>\n

State leaders have said that the new regulations protect minors.<\/p>\n

El Paso smoke shops are preparing for immediate impacts. <\/p>\n

Gabriel Silva, a manager at World Peace Smoke Shop, said the store is working to comply.<\/p>\n

\"Gabriel<\/p>\n

Gabriel Silva, a manager at World Peace Smoke Shop. Credit: KFOX14\/CBS4<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we\u2019ll be taking down all of our selection of CBD, THC, and HHC,\u201d Silva said. \u201cWhatever they want us to take down, we\u2019re going to be in compliance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Silva said hemp-related products make up a significant share of sales. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur sales are about 20 to 30 percent of our sales are… hemp,\u201d Silva said. \u201c[It] is going to be a challenge for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Silva also said many customers are unaware of the change. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo unfortunately, no, a lot of people don\u2019t know that it\u2019s going on,\u201d Silva said. \u201cI\u2019m telling my customers that we are going to be taking it off on the 31st, and a lot of them are upset.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjamin said he believes law enforcement will likely take a broad approach, seizing products they believe are illegal. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think this is going to have a… large impact on a lot of these smaller businesses that you know have sold a lot of these products thinking they\u2019re legal and now the law has changed,\u201d Benjamin said.<\/p>\n

The ban does not apply to consumable products like gummies and beverages. <\/p>\n

Those are regulated by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, which has not issued new regulations.<\/p>\n

\"El<\/p>\n

El Paso smoke shops brace for hemp ban under new Texas law. Credit: KFOX14\/CBS4<\/p>\n

RELATED: Federal spending bill threatens Texas hemp industry, sparking bankruptcy fears<\/a><\/p>\n

Sign up<\/a> to receive the top interesting stories from in and around our community once daily in your inbox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14\/CBS4) \u2014 Big changes are coming to Texas smoke shops starting Tuesday, as new state…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":223967,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[138,140,139],"class_list":["post-230949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-el-paso","tag-el-paso","tag-el-paso-headlines","tag-el-paso-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230949","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=230949"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230949\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=230949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=230949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=230949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}