Texas Bans the Manufacture and Sale of Smokable Hemp Products

The State of Texas officially banned the manufacture and sale of smokable hemp products and hemp vapor cartridges. Effective August 2, 2020, the Texas Department of State Health Services (the “DSHS”) issued a final rule prohibiting “(t)he [in-state] manufacture, processing, distribution, or retail sale of consumable hemp products for smoking” (the “Final Rule”).

Notably, while DSHS banned the in-state manufacture and sale of pre-rolled smokable hemp products and hemp vapor cartridges, the Final Rule does not ban the retail sale of raw hemp flower: “(p)roperly tested and labeled hemp flower, marketed for use other than smoking (e.g. as a tea or a food additive) does not fall under the retail ban contained in the [Final Rule].”

Thus, Texans may still engage in the retail sale of raw hemp flower, so long as the flower is not intended for consumption through combustion or a similar manner.

The Final Rule is a result of the landmark Texas hemp law signed by Governor Greg Abbott last summer, which provided for the production, manufacture, and retail sale of hemp crops and hemp products throughout the Lone Star State. Besides smokable hemp products and vapor cartridges, all other hemp products remain largely unaffected by the Final Rule.

If you have any questions about Texas’ regulation of the hemp and hemp products industry or how the Final Rule could impact you, please contact one of the authors of this Cannabis Counsel alert.