Texas House committee hears testimony on THC ban bill
AUSTIN (KXAN)– The Texas House Public Health Committee heard testimony Wednesday on legislation that would restrict hemp-derived products containing THC.
House Bill 5, which mirrors legislation previously vetoed by Gov. Abbott, would ban all cannabinoids except CBD and CBG consumable hemp products while imposing steep new fees and criminal penalties on the industry.
The Texas Senate already passed SB 3, a similar version of hemp restrictive legislation in a 21-8 vote earlier this year but Abbott vetoed the bill in July citing legal concerns about federal preemption.
HB 5 would ban all cannabinoids except CBD and CBG in consumable hemp products, impose $10,000 annual licensing fees on manufacturers and $20,000 fees on retailers and require individual product registration costing $500 each. The legislation also creates new criminal penalties, including third-degree felonies for manufacturing prohibited products.
“House Bill five seeks to stop the unregulated THC industry by banning all THC products outside the Texas compassionate use program, in addition to banning all THC other than non intoxicating CBD and CBG,” said Rep. Gary VanDeaver, R-New Boston.
Law enforcement backs ban
Police chiefs and sheriffs testified strongly in favor of restrictions, arguing that regulation would be impossible to enforce effectively.
“A vote for regulation is 100% a vote for the legalization of recreational marijuana in Texas,” said Chief Steve Dye of the Texas Police Chiefs Association. “Their business model will not work if they sell only THC products less than point 3%.”
Dye said effective regulation would require hiring and training hundreds of agents in chemistry and lab testing at a cost of “millions and millions of dollars” that the state cannot afford.
Sheriff Brian Hawthorn of Chambers County, representing the Sheriffs Association of Texas, said today’s cannabis products are far more potent than previous generations.
“The potency of today’s cannabis flower and the concentrates far exceed the weed of my generation,” Hawthorne said. “The THC potency of today’s cannabis products exceeds 50%.”
Dr. Peter Stout, president of the Texas Association of Crime Lab Directors, testified that the state’s forensic testing capacity cannot handle additional regulatory requirements.
“There are a total of 266 licensed [forensic scientists] in the state of Texas, that’s it. 266 people,” Stout said. “Those 266 people already are wildly overwhelmed with the tens of thousands of requests that the laboratories get from the 19,000 agencies.”
“THC is a mess for us. It’s expensive, it’s time consuming for us to even produce [a] minimally useful result,” Stout added.
Law enforcement officials played undercover video from three North Texas stores showing clerks coaching customers on purchasing high-potency products and avoiding police detection. Lab tests of those products showed THC concentrations in the 70% range, far exceeding legal limits.
Lt. Gov Dan Patrick has been a major proponent of banning THC products arguing they are marketed to children with harmful consequences. The Senate’s 21-8 vote margin suggests strong Republican support for restrictions.
However the legislation faces an uncertain path in the House, where some members have previously supported regulation over prohibition. Abbott’s previous veto creates additional uncertainty about wether he would sign similar legislation.
The hearing started this morning and continued into the afternoon with testimony from industry representatives and stakeholders opposed to the ban. The committee has not announced when it will vote on the measure.
Potential federal reclassification of marijuana
The hearing comes days after President Donald Trump said his administration is considering reclassifying marijuana at the federal level.
“We’re looking at reclassification, and we’ll make a determination over, I’d say, the next few weeks,” Trump said during a Monday press conference, referring to potentially moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under federal drug classifications.
Current federal law treats marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance with no accepted medical use, while hemp-derived products with low THC levels remain legal.
