Cannabis is here to stay in Texas, lawmakers and industry leaders said this week, as efforts to ban consumable hemp are losing steam. However, figuring out how to regulate the market remains a glaring problem that lawmakers will likely address in 2027.
State Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas, and Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, told cannabis industry leaders at the Texas Cannabis Policy Conference that the attempted ban on consumable hemp opened their eyes to how passionate Texans are about these products. Now it’s time to find a safe and responsible way to regulate businesses that sell THC instead of prohibition, they said.
“I don’t know of any area that is so in flux than this issue right now,” Darby said Friday during a panel. “We almost have to take it on.”
In a span of a year, those in the Texas THC industry witnessed the Texas Legislature expand the medical cannabis program, only to ban all THC products.
Then Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed that ban. Now, rules and regulations seem to be on the horizon, even as Congress approved a nationwide ban that goes into effect in November. Though industry leaders believe Washington will reverse course.