Texas has now banned manufacturing, processing, and the retail sale of smokable hemp and CBD products, which has left a lot of people confused on what’s legal and what isn’t.
When Governor Abbott signed a bill last year allowing the cultivation, possession and sale of hemp that contains less than .3% THC, retail companies in the state began selling consumable hemp products.
“They bought vape cartridges from out of state. They bought prerolls from out of state and then brought them over here and then they can turn around and sell them. That’s where DSHS has come in and said, ‘hey we’re shutting that off. We are not going to allow you to sell those products in Texas anymore,’” said Sonny Bever, Owner of Waco Hemp Farm LLC.
The State Department of Agriculture consulted with the Department of State Health Service, and now they’re cracking down creating new regulations which includes no sales of smokable hemp products.
Under the new rules, retailers will also have to have a license to sell any CBD and hemp products.
“You will see a lot of package changing. And the implement of the DSHS’s ruling also implemented the QR codes. Just basic packing with QR codes that to link the lab reports,” said Sonny Bever.
The regulation mainly impacts retail stores. Although they can’t sell smokable hemp products, hemp flowers are perfectly legal to grow and sell so long as the label states the product isn’t for smoking and human consumption.
“The raw flower is whatever you market it as. Whatever you brand it as, is what it’s going to be where as if we are just selling the hemp flower then you as a consumer can use it however you want to,” said Sonny Bever.
Raw hemp flowers can be manufactured and turned into smokable products, but the plant itself can be used in multiple other products such as teas, lotions, foo, and many more items.
Bever says the confusion has caused harm to farmer’s businesses and wants the community to know that it is legal to buy and grow hemp in its natural plant state, because it is considered a non-consumable product.
