A GOP Texas senator who led an ultimately unsuccessful push to ban consumable hemp products with THC during the regular legislative session and two special sessions this year is now imploring state agencies to adopt restrictions on cannabis that he says would align the state with federal law.
In a pair of letters sent to the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) and the Department of State Health Services (DSHS), Sen. Charles Perry (R) requested what he described as “narrowly tailored” changes to the state’s hemp laws. Specifically, he wants the crop and its derivatives to be tested for total THC content—including THCA—rather than just delta-9 THC, to determine legal status.
The senator said the proposed revisions “are designed to find common ground on this issue” after the governor vetoed one of his outright ban bills and lawmakers failed to pass other versions.
“Here’s the truth: we have debated what types of products should or should not be sold in this state, and I have no doubt that debate will continue in the 90th Legislative Session,” Perry said in a press release, “but no one should have any problem with the state complying with regulations adopted under [the federal 2018 Farm Bill].”
“To the THC retailers that testified countless times during the 89th Legislative Session that they simply wanted to sell products that ‘comply with federal law,’ well here’s your opportunity to do just that,” he said. “At a minimum, Texas has an obligation to ensure consumable hemp products only contain hemp, as that term is defined by the USDA.”
The letters to TDA and DSHS are largely identical, but they depart in a section outlining specific administrative policies Perry wants the agencies to respectively adopt within their jurisdiction.
Perry said that, despite state hemp laws stipulating the need for compliance with federal regulations, Texas “continues to ignore the sale of this cannabis flower at local head shops that would be illegal to harvest as hemp in all 50 states.”
“This cannabis flower is not hemp—it is marijuana, pure and simple,” he said. “The same applies for any cannabis concentrate extracted from such cannabis flower, which itself qualifies as either marijuana extract or tetrahydrocannabinols, as such terms are used in the Texas Schedules of Controlled Substances—once again, these substances are not hemp.”
By federal statute, hemp is defined as cannabis containing no more than 0.3 percent THC by dry weight. It does not carve out an exception for flower or extracts.
In his letter to the state agriculture department, the senator requested that it update the definition of hemp, ensure that THC levels are tested for both delta-9 THC and THCA and revise testing requirements.
The ask is similar for DSHS, with additional requests for definitional changes for what constitutes “smoking” and measurements of uncertainty for THC testing.
“The widespread and easy availability of illegal marijuana products, masquerading as ‘legal hemp’ is an ‘imminent peril to the public health, safety, or welfare’ of this state,” the letters say.
The letters urge the departments to “engage in emergency rulemaking to ensure (1) that the Texas Hemp Program rules are at a minimum, as stringent as those required by the USDA of every state plan in the United States, especially regarding Total THC, and (2) that bad actors in the State of Texas are clearly prohibited from exploiting purported ‘loopholes’ in current rules to circumvent the Texas Controlled Substances Act. Texas law should be crystal clear—cannabis flower that exceeds 0.3 percent Total THC is Marijuana.”
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While Gov. Greg Abbott (R) vetoed legislation championed by Perry and the lieutenant governor to ban all hemp products containing THC, he did sign an executive order earlier this month to set age limits to prevent youth access.
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) quickly adopted changes to the state’s hemp laws this week consistent with the governor’s order, making it so people under the age of 21 will no longer be permitted to purchase consumable hemp products.
Meanwhile, a recent survey from a GOP pollster affiliated with President Donald Trump found that Texas Democratic and Republican voters are unified in their opposition to the hemp ban proposal.
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