Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has vetoed a bill that would have banned intoxicating hemp products in the state, sending the hotly debated issue back to the Legislature through a special session tasked with producing “strict, fair and legally sustainable” regulations.
Abbott’s decision, which arrived less than an hour before deadline late on Sunday, had been the subject of intense speculation ever since the House sent Senate Bill 3 to his desk for signature in May. With Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick leading the charge and broad support from conservative Republicans, the bill would have criminalized the manufacturing, sale or possession of hemp products that contain any amount of THC or THCA (a precursor to THC that converts when heated).
“Senate Bill 3 is well-intentioned,” Abbott wrote in the veto proclamation. “But it would never go into effect because of valid constitutional challenges. Litigation challenging the bill has already been filed, and the legal defects in the bill are undeniable. If I were to allow Senate Bill 3 to become law, its enforcement would be enjoined for years, leaving existing abuses unaddressed. Texas cannot afford to wait.”
Citing his experience as a former Supreme Court justice and Attorney General of Texas, Abbott wrote that SB3 could be “permanently invalidated by the courts,” or it could be “delayed for years as the case winds its way through the legal system.”
The veto is a significant win for SB3’s organized opposition from various groups, including business owners, alcohol vendors and veterans.
“Gov. [Greg Abbott] has shown the people of Texas who he works for – proving that truth, freedom, and the voices of Texans still matter,” wrote the Texas Hemp Business Council on X. “By vetoing SB 3, he stood with millions of Texans, protected 53,000+ jobs – and rejected the lies, donors, and Dan Patrick’s propaganda crusade.”
Brez founder Aaron Nosbich called the veto “a massive win for freedom.” Lester Black, cannabis editor for SFGate.com, described the moment as “the biggest cannabis victory of the decade.”
“Hemp has clearly trojan horsed THC into mainstream America in a new way, unlike anything that’s happened since recreational stores opened in Colorado and Washington in 2014, over a decade ago,” Black wrote.
Responding to the veto via his official X account, Patrick said Abbott has been “totally silent” on SB3 throughout the legislative session. “His late-night veto, on an issue supported by 105 of 108 Republicans in the Legislature, strongly backed by law enforcement. Many in the medical and education communities, and the families who have seen their loved ones’ lives destroyed by these very dangerous drugs, leaves them feeling abandoned.”
The veto appears to have produced a roughly defined pathway for specific regulations around hemp, which is what many anti-SB3 campaigners advocated for. Abbott’s proclamation features a list of potential rules, which include criminalizing sales of THC products to minors, creating child-resistant and resealable packaging, limiting dosage levels, restricting sales hours for retailers and the ability for local governments to exercise prohibitions, among others. It also suggests permit and registration fees sufficient to support “robust enforcement and testing” by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.
“Passing a law is not the same thing as actually solving a problem,” Abbott wrote. “Texas needs a bill that is enforceable and will make our communities safer today, rather than years from now.”
The special session is scheduled for July 21.