Smokable hemp ban temporarily lifted, shops can sell smokable products again, Texas judge says

TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- In a victory for the hemp industry, a Travis County judge ruled that smokable hemp products that were banned last week can once again be sold in shops for now.

At a hearing on Friday, Judge Maya Guerra Gamble listened as the plaintiffs' and the state's lawyers went back and forth over whether the new rules enacted by the state are illegal.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs argued that the new rules are illegal and that two state agencies are attempting to do what legislators could not accomplish last year when a bill banning THC was vetoed by Governor Greg Abbott.

The plaintiffs argue that the Department of State Health Services and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, the agencies behind the hemp ban, have overstepped their constitutional authority by rewriting the definition of hemp that was established in 2019, and the amount of THC allowed in a product. They also argue that penalties and retail license fees were set at unreasonable levels.

In the meantime, the state is arguing that the new laws allow it to regulate smokable products based on THC, but also a chemical compound called THC-A.

The state also argues that in November, Congress passed legislation that clarifies the definition of hemp based on TCH and THC-A, giving them the legal go-ahead.

At the end of the hearing, the judge granted a temporary restraining order on the items related to the definition of THC, which means the ban is temporarily lifted and hemp products are allowed to be back on sale. The judge did not grant a temporary restraining order on the items related to the license fees and penalties.

A shop owner who sells smokable hemp told Eyewitness News that he was putting the products back out as soon as he could.

Another hearing is scheduled in two weeks to address both items.