Bipartisan Texas lawmakers say the stage is set to advance legislation next session establishing regulations for hemp THC products, with growing understanding among their colleagues that prohibition fails to effectively address concerns about the cannabis market.
During a panel at the Texas Cannabis Policy Conference last week, state Sen. Nathan Johnson (D) and Rep. Drew Darby (R) spoke about the future of hemp policy in the Lone Star State. While marijuana legalization may remain out of immediate reach in the Texas legislature, they said it’s been made clear to lawmakers that hemp regulations must be enacted.
Darby said he himself was “initially predisposed toward prohibition,” but he credited testimony from “veterans, patients, business owners and families” for changing his mind and leading him to conclude that “prohibition doesn’t work.”
“People were finding relief. Veterans were trying to avoid opioids. Small businesses had invested their livelihoods. The real-life impacts were undeniable,” he said at the event hosted by the Texas Cannabis Policy Center. “That’s when we shifted direction—toward regulation instead of prohibition. Let’s regulate it, police it, tax it and protect Texans. That process was transformational for me.”
As far as specific regulatory policy is concerned, the lawmaker said future regulations
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