AUSTIN, Texas (CN) - In an 11th-hour decision on Sunday night, Texas Governor Greg Abbott vetoed a bill that would have banned THC products in the state, calling for strong marijuana regulations in place of total prohibition.

Republicans overwhelmingly passed Senate Bill 3 in the Texas House and Senate during this year's regular legislative session, which ended earlier this month. The bill was aimed at closing a legal loophole that allowed intoxicating hemp beverages, candies and snacks to be sold at convenience stores with very few regulations.

Senate Bill 3 would have made it illegal to produce, sell or possess these products. But just before it would have become law at midnight without Abbott's signature, he issued a rare veto, putting him at odds with his fellow Republicans in the statehouse.   

In a proclamation explaining his decision, Abbott said that Senate Bill 3 would have turned veterans treating their PTSD or parents treating their children's epilepsy into felons. Moreover, the bill contained glaring legal issues that made it ripe for a court challenge.  

"Today, federal law promises Texas farmers that they may grow hemp without fear of criminal liability," Abbott wrote. "But under Senate Bill 3, the seeds used to grow those plants are 'consumable products' - currently available in stores - and they naturally contain cannabinoids. What's a Texas farmer to do? Trust the federal government's promise or fear criminal liability from the state?"

To further punctuate Abbott's concerns, a legal challenge to SB 3 was filed just days before his veto. In that case, three Texas hemp companies sued the state arguing that the federal 2018 Farm Bill legalizing hemp preempts SB 3 because it prohibits states from enforcing laws against the transportation of the plant.

To avoid any protracted legal fights, Abbott killed SB 3 and has put lawmakers on notice that he intends to call them back to the state Capitol on July 21 to create a regulatory framework for these products.

In his proclamation, the governor listed 19 items he would like to see in future legislation, placing great focus on creating barriers to children accessing these products. 

Abbott would like to see lawmakers make it a crime to provide THC products to minors, prohibit sales near places frequented by children, require packaging to be child-resistant and outlaw marketing that is targeted toward kids. He also called for future proposals to require strict testing of products, excise taxes that will go toward funding enforcement and oversight of the industry. 

All of these proposals were floated during lawmakers' consideration of SB 3, but Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who led the charge to get the bill passed, refused to compromise. During a now-viral press conference, Patrick, standing over a table of THC-infused snacks and gummies, demanded the media to "sell the story" that the consumables were dangerous and are leading to a generation being "hooked on drugs."

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Patrick called Abbott out for going against the wishes of the bill's supporters. 

"His late-night veto, on an issue supported by 105 of 108 Republicans in the Legislature, strongly backed by law enforcement, many in the medical and education communities, and the families who have seen their loved ones' lives destroyed by these very dangerous drugs, leaves them feeling abandoned," Patrick wrote.

Combating Patrick's rhetoric, hemp producers, cannabis shop owners, veterans and consumers sent thousands of letters to Abbott in the weeks following SB 3's passage. Hayden Meek, the owner of the cannabis store Delta-8 Denton in Denton, Texas, told Courthouse News that he appreciates Abbott for listening to them and giving the industry a chance.

"I feel like he went a very fair and balanced way about it, where he made sure to listen to the concerns that people had about hemp being legal, but he also wasn't being swayed by the Reefer Madness propaganda of Dan Patrick," Meek said. 

As for Abbott's wish list of regulations to lawmakers, Meek said he felt optimistic, with many of them being things that he and others in the industry have been calling for even before the 2025 session.

For now, over 5,000 hemp shops in Texas have escaped total annihilation from lawmakers. Going into a special session where this issue will be a top focus has the possibility of leading to the "strict, fair and legally sustainable" system Abbott would like to see. But Patrick wields immense power as leader of the state Senate, which could make attempts at THC regulation dead on arrival.

Source: Courthouse News Service