Texans Dodge the Ban: Hemp THC Survives Another Round

_{Filed Under: Dead Bills Tell No Tales}

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Texas is supposed to be the land of liberty, yet every few months the state’s top brass line up to play prohibition roulette with cannabis. They fire, the chamber clicks empty, and hemp THC lives to fight another day. The latest spectacle came during the second special session of 2025, where Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick once again made banning hemp-derived THC his holy crusade. The Senate swallowed his pitch and passed a ban, but the House never moved. The session ended, the bill died, and Patrick went back online to whine about his total THC dream. For the third time in less than a year, hemp THC escaped the hangman’s noose.

Patrick has been obsessed with shutting down hemp THC since the first gummies hit gas stations. His argument is simple to the point of stupidity. If it gets you high, it should be illegal. He has ignored science, economics, and the fact that Texans have already embraced these products in every corner of the state. He pushed a full THC ban during the regular session, the first special session, and the second special session. Each time, the Senate followed his lead like trained dogs. Each time, the House either refused to act or killed it quietly. Patrick’s latest quote said it all, he and the Senate are for a total ban, period. He does not care what it costs, he does not care what voters want, and he does not care about the constitutional mess that would follow.

Gov. Greg Abbott has not exactly become a friend to cannabis, but compared to Patrick, he looks like Cheech. Abbott vetoed an earlier THC ban in June 2025, calling it a guaranteed court nightmare. He pushed for regulation instead. Age limits, potency caps, and restrictions on synthetic cannabinoids were his plan. He said hemp was a legal agricultural commodity and should be regulated like one. That difference set off a turf war. Patrick wanted prohibition, Abbott wanted regulation, and the House wanted to avoid political suicide by killing jobs in their own districts. The end result was a stalemate. Abbott still holds the power to call a third special session. He has little incentive. He already got what he wanted out of this circus: new redistricting maps that could deliver Republicans more congressional seats in 2026, abortion bills that juice his base, and a flood relief package that makes him look like a leader. With those victories in hand, hemp THC is not his priority.

Texas hemp THC is not a niche. It is not a fad. It is a monster industry that sprang up overnight and put down roots in every county. Whitney Economics estimates it at over ten billion dollars in economic impact, more than fifty thousand jobs, and thousands of small businesses. Retail sales alone hit billions of dollars, with products ranging from gummies to vapes to tinctures. Walk into any town in Texas, and you will find a CBD shop that quietly stocks delta 8 carts behind the counter. You will find convenience stores selling edibles stronger than what passes for legal weed in other states. You will find ranchers growing hemp in fields that used to sit dry. This industry is not hypothetical; it is real, and it is putting money in pockets from Amarillo to Brownsville. A ban would have slaughtered those businesses overnight. Tens of thousands of jobs gone, billions in wages wiped, tax revenue down the drain. The political fallout would have been catastrophic. The House knew it. That is why they sat on their hands.

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This fight is not just about money; it is about control. Patrick and his Senate allies do not just want to regulate products; they want to erase cannabis culture from Texas entirely. They fear that intoxicating hemp opens the door to full legalization, and they are not wrong. The more Texans get used to walking into a shop and buying a THC gummy, the harder it becomes to justify keeping marijuana illegal. Abbott’s regulation model at least acknowledges reality. People are using these products; they are not going away, so the state might as well set limits and collect revenue. Patrick’s model is pure prohibition fantasy, the same nonsense that drove weed underground for decades.

Reports show hemp-derived cannabinoid sales exploded more than twelve hundred percent between 2020 and 2023. That is not growth, that is a revolution. Lawmakers can rail all they want, but when millions of Texans are consuming a product and billions of dollars are being exchanged, you cannot shove it back in the bottle. That is the outlaw truth. Texas can posture as conservative all it wants, but the market has already legalized. The House killed the ban because they knew it. Patrick lost because he ignored it.

The Legislature only meets in odd-numbered years, which means, unless Abbott calls them back, hemp THC is safe until 2027. That gives the industry breathing room, but not certainty. Patrick will keep swinging. He will keep filing bills, he will keep barking about a total ban, and he will keep losing as long as the money is too big to kill. For now, businesses can keep selling, growers can keep planting, and consumers can keep buying. The outlaw economy continues.

Patrick posted his total ban obsession on X for the world to see. After hours of talks with the Governor and the Speaker, no deal. His position remains unchanged. He wants a total ban. The replies told the real story. One Texan wrote, “Y’all wasting time on hemp instead of fixing flooding issues, pathetic.” Another said, “You already failed three times, take the L.” A meme of Patrick plastered with the caption “Anti-THC and proud of it,” spread fast. Someone else commented, “More proof you care more about banning gummies than helping people who lost their homes.” Another user jabbed, “Dan, you keep losing. Abbott and the House played you again.” One pointed out the hypocrisy, “Alcohol kills thousands, and you are obsessed with hemp. Do your job.” Others posted laughing emojis, clown gifs, and jokes about hemp gummies having more lives than Patrick’s bills. The thread turned into a roast session, people lining up to call him obsessed, out of touch, and a failure.

The outlaw cannabis story in Texas is not about dispensaries or patient programs. It is about hemp shops and small businesses keeping the culture alive under impossible odds. It is about politicians failing again and again because they cannot smother what people already own. Texas will never admit it, but the state is already living with legalized THC. Not regulated flower from a licensed dispensary, but gummies, vapes, and tinctures that deliver the same high. The only question is whether the state chooses to regulate or keeps playing prohibition theater. For now, Texans can thank gridlock for keeping their stash safe. The outlaw spirit is alive and well.

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