Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick doubled down on his push to ban THC products Wednesday morning, saying he’s been pressuring Texas liquor stores to drop cannabis-infused drinks and visiting Austin-area smoke shops to check whether they’re selling intoxicating products to children.
Patrick released a five-minute video of the visits on X and also put out a map showing many stores are close to schools. He alleged sales to underage consumers are widespread and creating health issues.
“I went out on the street to do a little investigation,” Patrick, a Republican, told reporters during a news conference at the Capitol. “You’ll see in the video, they will say, we keep people under 21 out. I’m sure there’s some good actors. I’m sure there are a lot of bad actors.”
Hearst Newspapers reported Tuesday on one such interaction in which Patrick was asked to provide identification to verify his age.
Recreational marijuana is illegal in Texas, but the state opened the door to THC varieties that can still produce a high when lawmakers legalized hemp in 2019. All sorts of products have proliferated in Texas since then, especially the Delta-8 variety, which is not regulated by the state. There are no age limits or testing requirements for the sale of those products.
Senate Bill 3, a priority of Patrick’s, would impose a ban on most hemp-derived products, including gummies, beverages and hemp flower, while still allowing hemp textiles or other non-consumable CBD products like lotions and balms. He predicted the bill would pass the full Senate Wednesday afternoon. He also said he had discussed the ban with House Speaker Dustin Burrows and Gov. Greg Abbott, adding that all three are “on the same page.”
Abbott previously declined to endorse the THC ban. Burrows has yet to make any public comment. Store owners say the ban would hurt what’s become a booming business and the customers who rely on them.
Lawmakers in the House are weighing bills to ban THC, or to more closely regulate products by mandating testing in Texas laboratories, higher licensing fees and limits on serving sizes.
House members have also discussed separating out THC beverages, which have grown in popularity, and regulating them similarly to alcohol. But Patrick said he was not open to an exception for beverages and was actively pressuring large liquor store chains in the state to pull those items off shelves.
THC products are still legal in surrounding states like New Mexico and Oklahoma, and thousands of websites offer products that can be shipped directly to consumers. Pressed on how the state would restrict such sales, State Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, did not list specific mechanisms to enforce a ban but expressed confidence in the state’s ability to do so.