Texas Governor Bans Stupid Hemp THC Legislation

I am not a fan of Texas Governor Greg Abbott for many reasons, but no human makes mistakes all of the time. Abbott vetoed a Bill approved by both the Texas Senate and the Texas House of Representatives in May at the last moment. I wrote about SB 3 and HB 46 recently, saying it was extremely likely to become law but not certain.

The legislation would have made all hemp-based THC illegal, wiping out many farmers and stores that sell the products but also keeping some helpful products away from people. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick was almost comical in his approach to get the legislation approved, and he is mad at the Governor:

Abbott posted a memo explaining the veto, which came right as his right to veto it was ending. The key points:

• He expected it was going to be challenged for violating the Texas constitution

• He set a special session beginning in July for Texas legislators to better regulate the industry

• He shared some potential regulations that might be included

I liked what he said near the end: "Passing a law is not the same thing as actually solving a problem." I have been arguing that Texas needs to better regulate this industry. It's not just Texas, by the way, and the federal government might move in this direction as well.

The regulation is not a done-deal, and some of Abbott's suggestions sound like overkill (like no sales on Sundays), but I bought the internet domain that I mentioned I was seeking in that late-May article and will have more to say about my plans to build a website to help people better understand THC products and the companies that make or sell them.