Texas delivers potential major milestone for hemp, medical marijuana

The way Texas Lt.Gov.

Dan Patrick sees it, the greatest gift the American THC industry is likely to enjoy in 2025 came late Sunday.“The governor of the state of Texas wants to legalize recreational marijuana in the state of Texas,” Patrick said Monday, lamenting Gov.

Greg Abbott’s surprising veto of a strict ban on hemp-derived THC.“That’s the headline, folks.” ADVERTISEMENT Abbott’s rejection of Senate Bill 3 – which would have banned hemp-derived THC outright in the state – is a stunning political reversal in the eyes of Patrick, long considered one of the most powerful figures in Texas politics and a proponent of the ban since last December.

It’s also an enormous reprieve for the state’s estimated $5.5 billon hemp industry, which Texas lawmakers will be on notice to regulate during a special session scheduled for late July.The day before his veto, Abbott signed into law a significant expansion of Texas’ heretofore extremely limited medical marijuana program.

Starting Sept.1, more powerful medical marijuana will be available to a greater number patients than ever before – and it can be produced and sold by up to 15 licensed companies, up from the current restrictive cap of three.

Texas poised to lead U.S.in THC – and THC policy The remarkable weekend for THC in Texas is laying the foundation for significant advances for both the hemp and the regulated marijuana industries – in business as well as politics.

It also might be the beginning of the end of a bifurcated market for hemp-derived THC and marijuana – and the start of what most observers agree eventually will be known as a “THC industry.” Texas is already one of the largest markets in the country for transformative products such as the hemp-derived beverages that both marijuana multistate operators and traditional alcohol companies and retailers are rushing to sell in other states.Workable regulations will creat...