Texas agencies directed to tighten oversight of intoxicating hemp under new order

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott moved this week to bypass legislative deadlock over intoxicating hemp, issuing an executive order that directs state agencies to ban sales of THC products to minors and strengthen labeling, testing, and enforcement.

Abbott tasked the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) with setting an age limit — widely expected to be 21 — and immediately launching rulemaking. Agencies are to increase licensing fees to support enforcement, coordinate with the Department of Public Safety, and consider broader restrictions such as Sunday sales bans and limits near schools and churches modeled on liquor law.

“Safety for kids, freedom for adults,” Abbott wrote on X. While lawmakers failed in two special sessions to reconcile his call for tighter regulation with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s push for an outright ban, Abbott framed his order as a stopgap to “make sure that kids are kept safe and parents have peace of mind now.”

Industry players welcomed the move, arguing that clearer rules will weed out bad actors without shutting down a market of more than 8,000 retailers. Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller called the order “common-sense solutions,” and hemp farmer Kyle Bingham said it marks progress toward a more professional sector.

But Abbott’s executive order on intoxicating hemp could decimate the state’s tightly constrained medical marijuana program. With recreational cannabis banned outright and medical marijuana capped at just 1% THC in Texas, the legal availability of hemp-derived intoxicants under Abbott’s order may undermine the state’s Compassionate Use Program (CUP).

In addition to the low THC levels, CUP patients face prescription requirements and limited access, while consumers would be able to legally purchase delta-8, THCA, and other hemp-derived intoxicants in thousands of retail outlets.

Missouri crackdown

In Missouri, St. Louis County Council is weighing a bill that would regulate intoxicating hemp cannabinoids such as delta-8 THC in line with the state’s cannabis dispensary rules. Councilwoman Lisa Clancy displayed brightly colored hemp packages she said were marketed to children, contrasting them with strict cannabis packaging rules.

Supporters of the proposal warn that many hemp products lack testing for pesticides or potency. But business owners counter that they already verify customer age and fear closures if forced into dispensary-style regulation. With hemp sales surpassing $1 billion statewide last year, including $240 million in taxes, the measure has drawn farmers, medical professionals, and industry representatives from across the Midwest.

In June, Andrew Bailey, the state’s Attorney General, issued informal cease-and-desist letters to at least 18 retailers—mostly smoke shops in the St. Louis area—demanding they stop selling hemp flowers with boosted levels of THCA – a product analysts said accounts for up to 80% of inventory in some smoke shops.

Meanwhile, back in Texas

Two businesses tied to the hemp trade are challenging enforcement in Abilene, where they say police improperly seized legal merchandise. CBD House of Healing, owned by Casey and Amber O’Neal, and vape retailer Starz Vape/Starz Vape 2, run by David Phillips, filed a joint federal lawsuit against the City of Abilene, the Abilene Police Department (APD), Police Chief Rondell Seratte, and Officer Steven Marc Valentine.

CBD House of Healing, which had as much as $1 million in flower and vape products confiscated in a raid, contends its inventory was fully certified under Texas hemp law. The suit alleges APD relied on flawed field tests and miscalculated THC-A content, leading to unlawful search and seizure. Plaintiffs seek return of the stock, attorney fees, restrictions on police testing methods such as gas chromatography, and a ban on raids without probable cause. Phillips’s Starz Vape stores, though not raided, claim lost customers and “credible fear of imminent prosecution” due to threats of enforcement, which they say have chilled lawful business activity.

Federal vacuum persists

The controversy in Texas and Missouri reflects a broader national patchwork born of the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized hemp cultivation but failed to anticipate intoxicating derivatives such as delta-8 THC. These compounds are typically synthesized from CBD, yet the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not issued clear rules even for CBD itself. That regulatory vacuum has fueled a booming gray market, with states left to improvise restrictions or bans.

More than 100 hemp and beverage industry leaders recently gathered in Washington, D.C. To address that situation, during a “day of advocacy” organized by the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America, according to a press release on the industry website Vinétur. The event included a roundtable led by Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, who urged colleagues to remove “arbitrary” language in the House Agriculture Appropriations Bill that industry representatives warn could amount to a de facto ban.

The press release highlights broad consensus around regulation rather than prohibition, with participants noting that banning hemp-derived products would drive them into unregulated channels. Notably, however, the statement never used the words “CBD” or “intoxicating hemp,” underscoring how sensitive and unsettled the terminology remains in Washington.