With Deadline Looming, Abbott Under Pressure to Veto THC Ban

After the Legislature this session passed a ban on consumable tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, veterans and cannabis industry leaders are asking Gov. Greg Abbott to veto the bill in a last-ditch bid to avoid the market’s total shutdown.

THC has functionally been legal in Texas law for six years. Since then, the market has exploded in Texas. THC-laced edibles, gummies and vapes have become staples in convenience stores around the state, as have standalone stores and mobile shops.

According to one estimate, THC is a roughly $8 billion industry in Texas, supporting more than 53,000 jobs, including farmers, processors and local retailers.

But this session, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presides over the Senate, mounted a fiery and aggressive campaign to ban the compound with the passage of Senate Bill 3, which would criminalize the manufacturing, sale and possession of products containing THC. Despite extensive public testimony opposed to the bill, Patrick doubled down by threatening to call a special session if the House did not pass a THC ban. 

The topic has polarized Texans across the political spectrum. Some Republicans who otherwise have supported Patrick’s conservative agenda, including Canadian Republican Rep. Ken King, rejected his push for a THC ban in favor of additional regulations backed by the industry, including age limits and limits on how the products can be marketed.

A majority of Texas Republicans, 55%, want cannabis laws to be less strict or as strict as they are now in the Lone Star State, according to an April poll by the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas. And veterans groups also are opposing an outright ban. 

After the House last month passed SB 3 with a full THC ban, Patrick held a dramatic press conference last week in response to growing backlash to once again attack the industry, accusing companies of targeting children and confusing consumers. 

Wielding a THC-infused lollipop, he suggested that parents “might go into a store and buy ‘em and not even know that you’re getting your kid high on drugs and hooked for life.”

In a press conference at the capitol on Monday, the last day of the session, veterans and cannabis industry leaders slammed Patrick’s remarks as untrue and misleading while urging Abbott to veto SB 3.

Mitch Fuller, a veteran who is the state legislative chairman of the Veterans of Foreign Wars department in Texas, explained that THC products are an important option for veterans to manage the physical and emotional aftermath of combat without relying on opioids. He said Patrick’s press conference was “an embarrassment to the state of Texas” that “was full of lies.”

In less than 10 days, the event organizers said that they have collected nearly 120,000 signatures on a petition calling on Abbott to veto the bill. After Monday’s press conference, they carted dozens of boxes of petitions and letters down to the governor’s office to attempt to sway his pen.

Abbott has until June 22 to veto the legislation, otherwise it will become law — either by his direct signature or by his choosing not to sign it. Patrick, asked at last week’s press conference about the likelihood of a veto, said that he’s “not worried about the governor.”

“He will do what he is going to do,” Patrick said, according to the Texas Tribune. “I have total confidence in the governor.”