Texas Consumable Hemp Market is Booming

Sales of consumable hemp in Texas are booming, with more than 7,000 registered consumable hemp retail spots, NPR reports. It is also available via delivery, mobile trucks, vending machines and mail order.

Hemp contains low-dose THC, the active ingredient in marijuana (cannabis). In 2018, Congress passed a farm bill that legalized hemp by declaring it was not marijuana. In 2019, Texas and other states passed their own laws allowing farmers to grow hemp for paper, clothing and bedding. A loophole in the state law allows consumable THC-containing hemp. Currently 11 states, mostly in the South, are in a similar situation.

Recreational cannabis is still illegal in Texas. Sale of medical cannabis is allowed, but the law is very restrictive, and medical marijuana in the state is expensive.

An investigation last year by Texas Monthly Magazine found that some hemp consumables in Texas greatly exceed the legal limit for THC. In addition, some products are contaminated with heavy metals, pesticides and mold, the investigation found.

Since hemp sales have become legal, Border Patrol seizures of illegal marijuana along the Southwest border have plummeted 72%.

The Texas legislature is scheduled to discuss psychoactive hemp this week. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick has vowed to pass a new bill that would ban all forms of THC.