The Texas Legislature's approach to establishing THC and hemp policy is becoming clearer with the introduction Monday of Senate Bill 5 by Republican Sen. Charles Perry, which prohibits the sale of products that contain THC if the products are "consumable," which would include products meant for smoking, eating, or drinking -- to anyone under the age of 21.
The bill will be discussed and altered as legislators move it through committee(s) and do some revising and compromising while hearing public testimony, but the approach of generally banning minors from purchasing such products sheds light on the overall debate expected over the next several weeks.
The bill is similar to one that made it through the regular session of the legislature this year but was vetoed by Governor Greg Abbott.
Gov. Abbott said the old bill would be subject to constitutional challenges, and "to ensure the highest level of safety for minors, as well as for adults, who obtain a product more dangerous than what they expected, Texas must strongly regulate hemp, and it must do so immediately."
Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, however, has said he wants to ban cannabinoid products entirely, with a few exceptions such as "medical marijuana."
Because the Lieutenant Governor oversees the Senate, the Senate version of potential hemp and THC law will be closely scrutinized.
Banned for minors under the bill are products with any “detectable amount of any cannabinoid” other than cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabigerol (CBG).
THC is the ingredient found in hemp and related products that results in a high and produces the drug's therapeutic effects.
Senate Bill 5 is central to the discussion over state policy toward THC, but is one of dozens of bills to be considered as the legislature is tasked with developing laws on about 18 different topics during the limited 30-day special session, which comes under the direction of Governor Abbott.
The bill also requires the proper labeling of any related products and the use of "tamper-evident, child-resistant, and resealable packaging."
And the bill creates a number of new criminal offenses that could be applied to people who sell THC and related products to minors, or in improperly labeled packaging.
A similar bill, House Bill 160 from Rep. Charlene Ward Johnson, is being considered in the state House of Representatives.