New THC rules in Texas take effect on July 31. Here’s what you need to know.<\/a><\/p>\nSome products remain legal, including all CBD products and hemp-infused beverages, which can now be found some liquor stores.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For Craig Bethards, owner of Crazy Craig’s House of Hemp, the biggest frustration isn’t that regulations were tightened \u2014 it’s that he believes lawmakers chose a ban instead.<\/p>\n
“We asked for regulation at the time,” Bethards said. “Where were the taxes on the products that we sell, like they taxed California and Colorado and other places like that, and we were told it was not in the budget. So there was no regulation at all.”<\/p>\n
Bethards has been in the hemp business since 2017, just before the 2018 federal Farm Bill legalized hemp containing no more than 0.3% Delta-9 THC. That law created a legal gray area that fueled the rapid growth of hemp-derived intoxicating cannabinoids, including products containing Delta-8 and THCA, across Texas and much of the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Holding up a package from his own store marketed as containing 2,000 milligrams of cannabinoids, Bethards questioned whether consumers can always trust what’s on the label.<\/p>\n
“This is a product here that will claim 2,000 milligrams per bag,” Bethards said. “It’s a mix of all this, all kinds of Delta stuff, and God knows what else. That’s why we need regulation to investigate and make sure that what they say is in there is, in fact, what they say is in there.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
While Bethards expects his three stores to remain open because they sell a variety of products that will still be legal, he believes many competitors won’t survive.<\/p>\n
“We’ve already seen a big loss from the previous bans, and we expect to see probably about half of our competitors and peers close,” he said.<\/p>\n
One Corpus Christi hemp retailer, who has been in business for just over a year and asked not to be identified, told 3NEWS he is considering leaving the industry entirely because of the new law.<\/p>\n
Rene Pena, owner of Panacea Hash Garden, was unable to make an on-camera interview with 3NEWS but said he plans to move his business entirely online before the law takes effect.<\/p>\n
Bethards worries many customers who still want banned products will simply turn to out-of-state online retailers or the black market.<\/p>\n
“Once your customers go online, your loyalty is pretty much gone out the door,” Bethards said. “Once you’re online, you’re going to be looking for the best products at the best prices with the best packaging.”<\/p>\n
In a written statement, Pena said the hemp ban will have significant economic and social consequences for businesses and consumers alike.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“The ban on hemp products in Texas is going to have major economic and social effects,” Pena wrote. “One of the biggest impacts will be on businesses and workers who depend on the hemp industry.”<\/p>\n
Pena said small retailers are likely to be hit especially hard because smokable hemp products make up more than half of the Texas hemp market.<\/p>\n
He also said many Texans have come to rely on hemp-derived products for relaxation, pain relief and other personal reasons, and argued the new law will reduce access to products such as THCA flower and pre-rolled joints.<\/p>\n
Despite the changes, Bethards said his stores will continue selling products that remain legal under Texas law.<\/p>\n
“We’re still allowed to do the gummies, the edibles, the pain salves that are so wonderful for the topicals, for the knee pain, the elbow pain, the wrist pains, and we’re hanging in there.”<\/p>\n
The new law is scheduled to take effect Friday, July 31.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Texas’ new hemp law takes effect Friday, forcing some Coastal Bend retailers to adapt, move online or consider…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":391572,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":["post-391571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391571","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=391571"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391571\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/391572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=391571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=391571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=391571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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