
Late Wednesday evening the Texas House of Representatives dealt the hemp industry in the Lone Star State what can only be described as a Texas size heartache with the passage of Senate Bill 3 (SB3), effectively banning all hemp derived products containing THC and placing significant restrictions on non-intoxicating hemp products. The state of Texas has seen exponential growth in the sale of hemp derived products in reliance on the 2018 Farm Bill and 2019 bipartisan legislation meant to bolster Texas agriculture, each leaving significant ambiguity with respect to hemp derived products. Hemp derived products in various forms and concentrations have flourished largely due to a lack of restriction in Texas. As the industry continued to grow a lot of brands and operators doubled down in the hopes that everything truly would be “bigger in Texas” rendering the industry essentially too big to fail. Arguably that may be the case with some estimating the passage of SB3 places 6,300 small business, 40,000 jobs and $4 billion in retail at risk.