{"id":224673,"date":"2026-03-24T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/?p=224673"},"modified":"2026-03-31T19:16:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T00:16:00","slug":"texas-hemp-thc-smokeable-flower-joints-regulations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2026\/03\/24\/texas-hemp-thc-smokeable-flower-joints-regulations\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas&#8217; ban on smokeable hemp cannabis is in effect. Here\u2019s what you need to know."},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-custom-everlit-iframe-embed\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Everlit Audio Player\" src=\"https:\/\/everlit.audio\/embeds\/artl_ya2V7sxkE2a?ui_cover_art=false&amp;ui_title_intro=Listen+to+this+article&amp;ui_title_icon=headphones&amp;client=wp&amp;client_version=3.0.3\" width=\"100%\" height=\"130px\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><style>.wp-block-custom-everlit-iframe-embed { margin: 0 !important; }<\/style><div class=\"everlit-disclaimer\" style=\"margin: 0;\"><div style=\"margin-top: -0.5rem;font-size: 0.7rem;color: #4a4a4a;font-family: Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif\">Audio recording is automated for accessibility. Humans wrote and edited the story. See our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/about\/ethics\/#ai-policy\">AI policy<\/a>, and give us <a href=\"https:\/\/airtable.com\/appFeleeKVUN0Iytx\/pagPG40gbkU0EfjIr\/form\">feedback<\/a>.<\/div><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>New state rules that eliminate natural smokeable hemp products and increase licensing fees went into effect Tuesday. Hemp industry leaders say these new regulations will eliminate a majority of their inventory and force those who don\u2019t have extra income to meet these new fees to close stores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Earlier in March, the Texas Department of State Health Services released regulations on consumable hemp-derived THC products that went into effect on March 31. These new regulations include child-resistant packaging, a significant increase in licensing fees, new labeling, testing, and bookkeeping requirements. The rules also codify the legal purchasing age to 21, which went into effect last year as an emergency directive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, hemp retailers say the regulation that decreases the amount of total THC in products they sell to 0.3% will eliminate popular smokeable hemp products, such as rolled joints and smokeable flower buds, which make up more than 50% of some stores\u2019 inventories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Texas Legislature voted to ban the products out of fear that these intoxicating products were consistently getting into the hands of children. But, Gov. <a href=\"https:\/\/directory.texastribune.org\/greg-abbott\/\">Greg Abbott<\/a> vetoed the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2025\/06\/22\/texas-thc-ban-bill-greg-abbott-veto-senate-bill-3\/\">decision last summer<\/a>, before asking the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and DSHS   to increase regulations on the industry instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The rules also increase licensing fees for manufacturers of hemp-derived THC from $258 to $10,000 per facility and retail registrations from $155 to $5,000, which industry leaders say will fulfill the ban by forcing businesses to close. \u201cThey did a ban with their own regulatory scheme,\u201d Lukas Gilkey, chief executive of Hometown Hero, a manufacturer of hemp-derived products, said. \u201cThe way they wrote the rules, it\u2019s going to eliminate a lot of products that are fully legal and fully fine and not harmed anyone.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group inline-related-story\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\t<div class=\"wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles  wpnbha show-image image-alignleft ts-3 is-2 is-uncropped \" style=\"\">\n\t\t<div data-posts data-current-post-id=\"224673\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"article-section-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span>Related Story<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<article data-post-id=\"225332\" class=\"tag-marijuana tag-photo-essay tag-photography category-health-care type-post post-has-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"post-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2026\/03\/31\/hemp-last-day-sale-ban-thc-austin-smoke-shop-texas\/\" rel=\"bookmark\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260330-THCa-Ban-LS-52.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-newspack-article-block-uncropped size-newspack-article-block-uncropped wp-post-image\" alt=\"Photos: The last day Texas stores can sell smokeable hemp cannabis\" data-hero-candidate=\"1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260330-THCa-Ban-LS-52.jpg?w=2560&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 2560w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260330-THCa-Ban-LS-52.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260330-THCa-Ban-LS-52.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260330-THCa-Ban-LS-52.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260330-THCa-Ban-LS-52.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260330-THCa-Ban-LS-52.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260330-THCa-Ban-LS-52.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260330-THCa-Ban-LS-52.jpg?resize=2000%2C1333&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260330-THCa-Ban-LS-52.jpg?resize=780%2C520&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 780w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260330-THCa-Ban-LS-52.jpg?resize=800%2C533&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260330-THCa-Ban-LS-52.jpg?resize=400%2C267&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260330-THCa-Ban-LS-52.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw \/ 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw \/ 12)), 100vw\" data-attachment-id=\"225341\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2026\/03\/31\/hemp-last-day-sale-ban-thc-austin-smoke-shop-texas\/20260330-thca-ban-ls-52\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260330-THCa-Ban-LS-52.jpg?fit=2560%2C1706&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1706\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta='{\"aperture\":\"4\",\"credit\":\"Leila Saidane for The Texas Tribune\",\"camera\":\"Canon EOS R6m2\",\"caption\":\"12:07 A.M. Cheyenne Soto removes THC smokeable hemp cannabis from shelves at Happy Clouds smoke shop minutes after the ban of THC sales on Guadalupe St. in Austin, Texas on Tuesday, March 31, 2026.\",\"created_timestamp\":\"1774933667\",\"copyright\":\"Leila Saidane\",\"focal_length\":\"35\",\"iso\":\"500\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0.004\",\"title\":\"\",\"orientation\":\"0\"}' data-image-title=\"20260330 THCa Ban LS 52\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;At 12:07 A.M on March 31, Cheyenne Soto removes THC smokeable hemp cannabis from shelves at a Happy Clouds smoke shop in Austin minutes after the ban of THC sales.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260330-THCa-Ban-LS-52.jpg?fit=300%2C200&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260330-THCa-Ban-LS-52.jpg?fit=1024%2C682&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure><!-- .featured-image -->\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2026\/03\/31\/hemp-last-day-sale-ban-thc-austin-smoke-shop-texas\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Photos: The last day Texas stores can sell smokeable hemp cannabis<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<time class=\"entry-date published updated\" datetime=\"2026-03-31T17:35:13-05:00\">March 31, 2026<\/time>\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-meta -->\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-wrapper -->\n\t<\/article>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What will Texans no longer be able to buy?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Under the new rules and regulations, Texans will no longer be able to purchase intoxicating smokeable hemp products, including hemp flower or pre-rolled joints. Consumers can still purchase edibles and beverages because they have lower THC concentrations or because they are under the purview of the TABC, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2026\/01\/20\/texas-tabc-hemp-rules-finalized\/\">which has not banned these beverages<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe estimate this will hand 50% of the legal market to illicit operators, making our state less safe,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/heather-fazio\/\">Heather Fazio<\/a>, director of Texas Cannabis Policy Center, said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even though Texas law bans marijuana, lawmakers legalized hemp in 2019. State law defines hemp as containing less than 0.3% levels of intoxicating Delta-9 THC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To get around the law\u2019s Delta-9 THC restrictions, manufacturers started cultivating hemp plants with another type of THC, called <a href=\"https:\/\/arborswellness.com\/blog\/what-is-thca-how-is-it-different-from-thc\/\">THCA<\/a>, that, when ignited in a joint or smokeable product, can produce a high. Many lawmakers have said this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2025\/03\/19\/texas-senate-hemp-ban-thc-dan-patrick\/\">legal loophole<\/a> has allowed a recreational THC market to appear overnight without direct approval from the state. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Under the new rules, <a href=\"https:\/\/agrilifetoday.tamu.edu\/2020\/12\/02\/growing-season-hemp-potency-testing-available-through-texas-am-agrilife\/\">laboratories tests<\/a> will now measure the total amount of any THC in a product. If the THC levels exceed the 0.3% threshold even if it\u2019s only activated upon being smoked, the product will be noncompliant under state regulations. As a result, some of the most popular hemp products, like THCA <a href=\"https:\/\/geremygreensfarm.com\/?srsltid=AfmBOopicWCDtbpKZZdCL4befoXiHGra1mnOl2qnnwX96q9SrJWeuIWl\">flower<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.d8austin.com\/pre-rolls\">pre-rolled joints<\/a>, will be banned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hemp businesses caught selling noncompliant products will face a range of penalties and fines, including license revocation and up to $10,000 in violation fees for each day these products were sold in stores. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMany hemp businesses that have operated legitimately for years will have to make a hard decision about whether or not they can keep their doors open,\u201d said Fazio. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What happens if Texans are caught in possession of smokeable THC products? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>People in Texas will not be committing a crime if they are in possession of smokeable THC products after March 31.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fazio encourages Texans to take advantage of the sales on smokeable hemp products over the next couple of days, as hemp retailers are scrambling to clear these items from shelves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThere is no risk to consumers who possess or consume hemp in any form,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Andrea Steel, a Houston attorney for several THC businesses, said in theory customers shouldn\u2019t get in trouble, but expects law enforcement agencies will incorrectly arrest people caught smoking hemp products because they might assume smokeable hemp is banned, just like marijuana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cJust a twist of the consequences of what happens when an agency goes too far,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hemp retailers cannot sell to out-of-state customers, said Fazio, meaning store owners will be stuck with any non-compliant products that they can\u2019t sell before the end of the month. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey can keep it for themselves, but they cannot sell it,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why are hemp industry leaders opposed to these changes? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Fazio said many hemp industry leaders are grateful to see tighter restrictions from DSHS, including requiring stores to verify customers\u2019 ages and ensure products have warning labels and child-proof packaging, because many businesses have operated with very little accountability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> \u201cGood actors welcome increased regulatory enforcement, while bad actors should be concerned about this new level of accountability that will protect consumers,\u201d she said. \u201cHowever, two major changes greatly concern us: licensing fees and regulatory product restrictions.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Restricting levels of any THC in hemp will wipe out stores\u2019 most popular products, smokeables. Raising licensing fees for hemp manufacturers from $250 to $10,000 and retailer fees from $150 to $5,000 will close businesses, industry members say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Under the new rules, hemp retailers and manufacturers will also need to keep detailed records for each product type to ensure THC levels are consistent, records for every production run, documentation of raw materials and ingredients, and formal procedures for documenting and investigating complaints, among other requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While larger hemp manufacturers can handle this new demand, some of the smaller THC retailers, usually located in rural areas of Texas, will close because they lack resources, staff, or time to implement those changes. These extra requirements for retailers could inadvertently cut off access to recreational THC in those regions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis death by a thousand paper cuts,\u201d Gilkey said. \u201cThe problem is that the desire for these products is not going to go away; they will just order them online, where it\u2019s still legal, or off the street, where we have no testing and no guidance.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why do state leaders want these types of restrictions? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Supporters of the licensing fee increase say the new regulations are a necessary step to protect children and consumers from hemp products that have dangerously high amounts of THC in them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cCannabis advocates say this is a billion-dollar industry. It\u2019s fair and appropriate for the people who profit from selling a billion dollars in intoxicating products to create fees that help cover the cost associated with the regulation and societal burden of the product,\u201d Betsy Jones, director of policy and strategy at Texans for Safe and Drug-Free Youth, told the state health agency earlier this year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Data provided from the <a href=\"https:\/\/healthdata.dshs.texas.gov\/dashboard\/drugs-and-alcohol\/poison-center-calls\/Cannabinoid-related-poison-center-calls\">Texas Poison Center Network<\/a> confirms a sharp increase in cannabis-related poisoning calls starting in 2019, a year after hemp-derived THC was legalized by the federal government, from 923 to a 10-year high of 2,592 in 2024. However, those calls dropped to 1,485 last year. The majority of these calls involve suspected poisoning of children under the age of five and teenagers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2025\/07\/22\/texas-marijuana-hemp-data-poison-control-overdose\/\">Drug policy experts sa<\/a>id these numbers seem alarming, but it is natural for poisoning calls to increase when a drug has become legalized, and the data needs additional context before making conclusions from it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Concerns about the safety of these high-THC products among youth led lawmakers to attempt to ban hemp-derived THC products outright last year. While the overall ban didn\u2019t succeed, lawmakers did successfully ban vape pens containing THC and other hemp-derived intoxicating chemicals. Lawmakers banned it for everyone because they were concerned cannabis vape pens were so popular among teenagers because they can use them discreetly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also, hemp supporters have accused  law enforcement agencies of attempting to rein in the industry by unlawfully<a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2026\/03\/09\/texas-cannabis-hemp-thc-police-raids\/\"> raiding stores<\/a>. Law enforcement agencies accused these hemp shops of selling dangerous products, especially to children, and engaging in other unscrupulous activities such as money laundering. Many of those retailers have not yet been found guilty of any crime, according to their attorneys. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What does the future hold? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Multiple hemp industry leaders and advocates say a conglomerate of hemp businesses plan to sue the state to block these new regulations from taking effect. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gilkey said the hemp industry\u2019s battle to stay alive in Texas <a href=\"https:\/\/www.keranews.org\/government\/2026-01-14\/thc-marijuana-cannabis-texas-department-of-state-health-services-hemp\">started back in 2021<\/a> when the state health agency classified any amount of a natural intoxicating hemp compound called Delta-8 THC as illegal, leading to a lawsuit that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.keranews.org\/government\/2026-01-14\/thc-marijuana-cannabis-texas-department-of-state-health-services-hemp\">Texas Supreme Court is expected<\/a> to consider this year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> \u201cIt has been a long, hard battle,\u201d Gilkey said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Steel predicts Texans will find workarounds to the new regulations, including smoking \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0379073826000101\">semi-synthetic<\/a>\u201d or \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC7357058\/\">converted<\/a>\u201d cannabis products, which are items sprayed with various chemicals to mimic marijuana\u2019s high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019ll see edibles and beverages trying to take that gap, but people want to smoke, and so they\u2019re going to fill that gap with something that complies with the law, or at least on its face appears to comply with the law,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n<p><!-- \/wp:post-content --><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New rules from state health officials ban smokeable intoxicating hemp products, including pre-rolled joints and hemp flower. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":211,"featured_media":224655,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"single-feature.php","format":"standard","meta":{"everlit_article_id":"artl_ya2V7sxkE2a","everlit_hide_embed":false,"everlit_embed_size":"large","everlit_generation_settings":{"embed_ui_cover_art":false,"embed_ui_title_intro":"Listen to this 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19:16:00","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[53,22,28,23],"tags":[2415],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"tt_series":[],"coauthors":[296],"class_list":["post-224673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-health-care","category-politics","category-state-government","tag-marijuana","entry"],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is 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Here\u2019s what to know.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"New rules from state health officials ban smokeable intoxicating hemp products, including pre-rolled joints and hemp flower.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2026\/03\/24\/texas-hemp-thc-smokeable-flower-joints-regulations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Texas begins ban on smokeable hemp. 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