{"id":451229,"date":"2026-09-29T15:48:07","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T15:48:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/451229\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T15:48:07","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T15:48:07","slug":"how-is-the-texas-thc-ban-affecting-users-results-are-mixed-dallas-doctor-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/451229\/","title":{"rendered":"How is the Texas THC ban affecting users? Results are mixed, Dallas doctor says"},"content":{"rendered":"

More people may be reconsidering their habits following Texas\u2019 July ban on synthetic THC<\/a>, a Dallas-based psychiatrist told the Observer last week.<\/p>\n

On July 31, products such as delta-8, delta-10, THCP and other synthetic cannabinoids (cannabis-derived compounds) were banned in the state of Texas<\/a>. The change came after the state health agency ruled that only products with delta-9 THC \u2014 and a small amount at that \u2014 fit the state\u2019s new definition of legal hemp.<\/p>\n

Proponents of a ban have argued that legalization opened a Pandora\u2019s box filled with unregulated high-potency products sometimes marketed to children<\/a>, often leading to negative health effects. Industry advocates, however, say it offers relief to veterans and cancer patients in a state where medical marijuana is tightly regulated.<\/p>\n

Delta-8 and other compounds proliferated widely after the state legalized hemp in 2019, with thousands of products flooding smoke shops<\/a> and CBD stores after the Texas Farm Bill was passed. Officials then tried to walk back the policy on synthetic<\/a> THC products through actions by the state health agency, but were blocked in court. That is, until May, when the state ruled<\/a> that the agency can amend its definitions of legal hemp to essentially outlaw many of the THC products that have been legal since 2019.<\/p>\n

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Much of the media coverage on the topic so far has focused on the perils facing small businesse<\/a>s, many of which had their inventories severely impacted by the ban. But what about the consumer?<\/p>\n

Dr. Donald Egan, director of behavioral health at Prism Health, a community health organization in Dallas, said he hasn\u2019t seen a noticeable decrease in usage since the ban, at least based on what he\u2019s seen in his practice. He treats patients with histories of THC use up to several times a day, and said what he has observed is that the ban is forcing people to at least begin reconsidering their habits. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think in a positive way, from a psychiatric standpoint and an addiction standpoint, it has kind of had people question their use,\u201d Egan said. \u201c\u2018Like, OK, I\u2019ve been told this thing was like fine and good and healthy and safe, but now it\u2019s being regulated more and it\u2019s a controlled substance.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Landscape has changed\u2019<\/p>\n

State regulations enacted over the last two years have increasingly constrained consumers\u2019 legal options. Pre-rolled joints and other forms of smokable hemp were effectively banned in March<\/a>, while vapes containing any form of THC were banned by the state legislature beginning in 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But the July ban represents the most significant challenge for the industry and consumers yet. The Texas Hemp Business Council has estimated that up to 20% of products were affected by the ban, and four retailers filed a lawsuit against the state alleging sales have declined by over 50% since it took effect, according to prior reporting<\/a> by the Texas Tribune.<\/p>\n

Egan said that consumers have been put in a tough position post-ban, which is leading them to consider changes in their use.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe it\u2019s \u2018It was regulated, and I didn\u2019t have access to the product that I used to use, and I felt really bad, and I was having withdrawal symptoms \u2014 I don\u2019t want that to happen again,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cAnd so, I haven\u2019t seen a noticeable change in the use. However, I have seen a noticeable change in people thinking about their use\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he has also not seen a major uptick in withdrawal cases, but that when they do occur, they can be uncomfortable, with symptoms including insomnia or anxiety. They also last longer compared to other drugs, as THC tends to linger in the system for weeks after cessation, and can point to cannabis use syndrome, as Egan calls it.<\/p>\n

According to the Cleveland Clinic, the disorder stems from sustained use of THC. Habitual THC use leads consumers to need more of the substance to achieve the same effects, which they can also become more dependent on, Egan said, adding that not everyone who uses THC products develops the disorder. About 10% of people who begin smoking cannabis will become addicted, and 30% of current users meet the criteria for addiction, according to Yale Medicine.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are people who will use it recreationally and not have issues with it,\u201d he said. \u201cWhereas, as a psychiatrist and as an addiction specialist, my ears perk up a little bit and I really want to make sure we get a good sense of \u2018Is there beginning to be a loss of control with it? Are you using it every single day to self-medicate or to alleviate something like anxiety or insomnia?\u201d<\/p>\n

Treatment can include counseling, medication and addressing underlying health issues that consumers may be self-medicating for, Egan said, adding that total sobriety is not always necessary for recovery.<\/p>\n

Egan also said that a rise in cannabis use disorder mirrors a wider trend extending to alcohol use and other substance disorders largely catalyzed<\/a> by the COVID-era lockdowns. And given the products people are now using, he added, things are riskier than ever.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe landscape has changed quite a bit over the years,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is now more and more of this kind of growing field of THC products, which are more potent than the run-of-the-mill kind of old-fashioned marijuana that some of us\u2019 parents and grandparents\u2019 generations are used to\u2026 We\u2019re seeing more of the downstream effects.\u201d<\/p>\n

The effects<\/p>\n

Egan said that delta-8 THC and other synthetic THC products are different than traditional marijuana in the way they affect the brain.<\/p>\n

\u201cDelta-8 is more potent,\u201d Egan said. \u201cIt affects those same receptors, just in a greater way. It\u2019s more psychoactive in that way, meaning it has more of those effects, like increased anxiety, paranoia, insomnia, that cause people issues down the road.\u201d<\/p>\n

Delta-8, along with some of the other cannabinoids banned in July, occurs naturally in marijuana at low levels. However, when artificially altered by producers, the compounds can have psychoactive effects similar to or even greater than those of delta-9, the main psychoactive compound in marijuana and the only legal cannabinoid left in Texas following the changes.<\/p>\n

Egan said that a lack of regulation on the products prior to the ban allowed dangerously potent THC products to find their way into stores, a sentiment echoed by industry leaders who have also asked for oversight to root out bad actors. However, he also said that the legal fight is unlikely to have a large impact on the persistence of substance use.<\/p>\n

\u201cRegardless of legality, you know whether something\u2019s illegal or legal, people are going to find ways of using it,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are substances that are illegal that we still see people using. I mean, opioids are a great example, like heroin, fentanyl. That\u2019s been illegal. Everyone knows it\u2019s illegal, yet we still see the numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More people may be reconsidering their habits following Texas\u2019 July ban on synthetic THC, a Dallas-based psychiatrist told…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":451230,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,103,2530],"class_list":["post-451229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news","tag-drugs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451229","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=451229"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451229\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/451230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=451229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=451229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=451229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}