Senate Bill SB3 has been passed by the House, imposing strict restrictions on hemp businesses in the Lone Star State, effectively putting thousands of them in jeopardy. Following a national trend of curbing the excesses of a hemp sector where questionable products laced with THC made their unregulated way into the market, Texas is now imposing hard limits on hemp products to supposedly enhance consumer safety—while at the same time admittedly undercutting legitimate operators.
Strongly sponsored by the Lieutenant Governor of Texas, Dan Patrick, SB3 was initially designed to outright ban THC products in the state. Now amended to impose strict restrictions on THC products, the bill currently bans vape products, limits hemp flower to 0.3% total THC, and regulates all other THC products. "This is poisonous THC. No regulations whatsoever. No one knows what's in it," he argued during Tuesday's hearing on the bill.
According to Vice President of edibles.com, Thomas Winstanley, SB3 is "a curse worse than the disease." "Anyone in the legal hemp industry will acknowledge that the current product landscape is uneven—some products are unlicensed, untested, and unregulated, and yes, there is a real consumer health threat. Is there a need for a thoughtful policy that codifies a sustainable and regulated path forward? Absolutely. But does SB3 accomplish that? No. In fact, it does the opposite, fueling the very risks it claims to eliminate by pushing safe, regulated products out of reach and creating a vacuum that will be filled by unregulated, illicit alternatives," he says in a statement.
Thomas was much more in favor of the alternative version of the legislation proposed by the House, HB23. "It recognized that not all hemp products are created equal and proposed a distinction between ingestibles (such as drinks and edibles) and inhalables (vapes and flower). It introduced sensible caps on THC milligrams per serving, required 21+ access channels, expanded licensing, and established a revenue stream to fund enforcement—something the current system sorely lacks."
According to him, the economic impact of SB3 is devastating. "The numbers speak for themselves: over 6,300 businesses shuttered, more than 40,000 workers displaced, and approximately $2.1 billion in lost wages. Add to that over $250 million in annual sales tax revenue, $4.3 billion in retail sales, and an economic halo effect estimated at $10 billion—and the scale of the harm becomes clear."