While other states are continuing to legalize and/or decriminalize marijuana, Texas is, you guessed it, taking a big step backward.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who formerly co-owned a group of Houston-area sports bars that bankrupted, announced in December that he was setting a legislative priority on banning all forms of THC, statewide.
A few weeks ago, a bill was filed in the Senate, where Patrick presides, to ban all THC products. Senate Bill 3, authored by Lubbock Republican Sen. Charles Perry, which passed, would not affect CBD products.
Patrick, who is firm on pushing for a never-ending series of special sessions until a ban is passed, said “We must take bold action to keep dangerous drugs away from our communities and out of our schools,” and claimed in a press conference a couple of weeks ago that THC is killing kids.
We can all agree that we must keep dangerous drugs away from our communities and out of our schools, but Patrick’s priority bogeyman is complete nonsense.
So what about deadly cigarettes, which have been scientifically proven to shorten lifespans? Why are they still on shelves? I’m sure there’s lobbying money that has ended up in Patrick’s war chest from Big Tobacco, and if I were a conspiracy theorist, I’d be inclined to think that cartels were paying off Texas politicians to keep cannabis illegal. And of course, one cannot overlook the enormous effects that alcohol has had on the health of the American people; a product that Patrick’s Dan and Nick’s Sportsmarkets specialized in throughout the 1980s. Who knows how many drunken driving charges were racked up as a result of patrons over-indulging, or heaven forbid, fatal drunken driving crashes, but I digress.
Patrick claims that the sale of THC products is exploiting a loophole in a 2019 law that allowed for the sale of industrial hemp in Texas. To be clear, the THC products sold in pretty much every gas station across the state nowadays are Delta-8 THC, which lacks the psychoactive component in Delta-9 THC that produces a “high.” The latter is still illegal here in Texas, but enough of the chemistry lesson.
With the hemp bill came a window for many individuals with chronic pain and conditions such as anxiety and even epilepsy to seek a natural source of relief for their conditions.
A thriving market for hemp products also created a legitimate business model within the state, which has long been a leader in agricultural business, and saw a significant reduction in black market activity and drug-related crime. Roughly 8,300 retailers sell a range of hemp products that include THC, from flower buds to infused beverages.
The answer/focus should not be on eliminating THC products in Texas but ensuring proper oversight. Dan Patrick is wrong on this issue, and his absolutist take will not endear him to voters, the majority of whom approve of some form of marijuana to be legal within the state.
Instead of banning THC products, the solution should be to fully legalize all THC products (Delta-9, included) for distribution and sale within the state of Texas, with proper regulation and oversight, and the sale of said products to children made a felony offense.
There are overwhelming levels of support for legalization in Texas. Full legalization would allow our already stressed and stretched law enforcement officers to go after real criminals and actual harmful drugs, such as Fentanyl, which is a real problem that is actually killing kids.
Patrick recently visited an Austin area hemp store and was hoping to get some ammo for his Quixotic quest. When he was asked for his ID by an employee, he said “I’m Dan Patrick,” to which the employee said “I still need to see your ID.”
Cannabis/hemp/THC is a boring topic to write about, but this topic must be addressed, as it threatens the livelihood of many individuals, as well as the health of many who rely on THC products for a better quality of life.
This is 2025, and the people are not so stupid as to be cowed by some “Reefer Madness” nonsense about THC killing kids. In this day and age, marijuana and/or any hemp products seem about as edgy or cool as the gin martinis favored by white collar blowhards in the ‘60s after a long day at the office.
Patrick’s nonsense seems to underscore an even bigger issue: that our right to vote on these issues have been taken away. Whether it’s this issue or the “school choice” scam, where is our voice? Where is our actual representation in the Lege?
Texans should be able to live their lives as they want, with what they need to maintain a good quality of life, but not all of us were written blank checks by oil billionaires.
