Meet the Happy Cactus: Fighting for Hemp

The landscape of hemp and marijuana in the State of Texas has
been an absolute minefield, and Todd Harris of The Happy
Cactus can speak to this first-hand. From being targeted by a
51-year-old publication to having his shop visited by none other
than Dan Patrick himself, Todd has had to defend his business
left, right, and center.

Blazed Magazine: What would you like our readers to know
about The Happy Cactus? Can you explain your growth from a
food truck to bona fide brick-and-mortar?

Todd Harris: My brother Mickey and I started The Happy
Cactus over 5 years ago out of my garage. What started as an
online CBD store quickly turned into a physical location when
we converted a taco truck into a super small hemp retail shop
in South Austin. From there we expanded into two trailer
locations and then eventually ended up where we are today,
with two brick-n-mortars. We couldn’t be more proud to have
started this business in our hometown servicing the
community we grew up in. Our customers and amazing
staff are absolutely the reason we have stayed in business and
continue to grow in this beautiful city of ours.

BM: Were you disappointed by Texas Monthly’s article, where
they supposedly made harsh claims against multiple shops in
Texas (including Happy Cactus), clearly without doing their due
diligence? You really called them out on that one!

TH: Yes, we were definitely disappointed in Texas Monthly.
We feel like they tried to tell a biased story that they didn’t
have all the information on, and that is a very dangerous
thing. These shops they called out, including ours, were
following the laws exactly how Texas legislators passed them
in 2019 and we were being subjected to scrutiny based on
false information and data. In response to the article and its
wild claims, DSHS (the regulatory organization for hemp in
Texas) came by our shops for an inspection, in which we
passed with flying colors. So it was even more obvious that
the people behind that article condoned spreading
misinformation to disrupt the hemp industry. But yes, we did
write a letter to the editor detailing all of the misinformation
in their article. We reached out to Texas Monthly and at first
they seemed interested in hearing our side of the story. But
then, at the last minute, after many emails, they went silent
and wouldn’t respond. I believe that, in the end, they knew
they were in the wrong and didn’t want to share our story.

BM: Can you explain to our readers why TCUP came after you?

TH: I can do my best. So, TCUP is the medical marijuana
program in Texas. It became exceedingly obvious to us that
TCUP was trying to shut down the hemp industry after a
member of Texas Original (a TCUP company) spoke at the
Senate hearing for SB3. He went on to say that their business
has dropped 50% due to the rise in popularity for hemp
derived products and that we should all be shut down

immediately. He claimed we are peddling unsafe and illegal
products, even though these products we sell are the same as
what TCUP offers except with more options, access and
affordability. Everything we sell is federally legal whereas
medical marijuana still isn’t. It is our opinion that TCUP
operators are extremely upset they were not able to come
into Texas and monopolize this plant.

BM: I understand the most important aspect of your business is
helping people (with pain management, PTSD, etc.). I’m not
trying to downplay that, but some people simply use marijuana
and hemp-based products recreational. Does it ever bother
you that even though alcohol has no medicinal value or
therapeutic merit, makers and distributors are allowed to hawk
their wares unfettered in convenience stores on every
corner, while your business is used as political fodder?

TH: It is extremely bothersome and disheartening to have
these few legislators push so hard against a plant that has
never killed anyone while taking large amounts of campaign
money from alcohol companies. We believe, though, that
Texans are easily seeing through the misinformation and are
speaking up about the corruption among our leaders. Texans
are watching. I believe this will be exceedingly evident during
the next election here in Texas.

BM: Can you explain what’s on the table for the July 21 special
session and how the outcome may affect shops like yours?

TH: The special session looks to bring more regulations to the
hemp industry. We are absolutely in favor of commonsense
regulations, like: 21 and up, more strict packaging
requirements, and milligram caps. Something that a lot of
people don’t realize is that the hemp industry in Texas already
has a good number of regulations, from not allowing synthetic
cannabinoids to requiring up-to-date/verified testing on all
products. But we are absolutely in favor of adding even more
regulations to make sure Texans and hemp businesses are
protected. We are cautiously optimistic. Our main hope is that
they don’t try and push for far-reaching regulations that
would shut down the industry. Texans have spoken, we just
hope our legislators listen.

BM: You are blazing trails. Can you tell us about the single most
rewarding aspect of starting and running your business so far?

TH: Oh, that’s tough. But I will say, one of the most rewarding
aspects of running our own business is the ability to have
complete control over curating the experience our customers
get when walking through our doors. We absolutely love
creating a safe and inclusive space for all of our customers so
that they feel educated and excited about these products. It
feels really good to confidently stand behind every product
we carry and know that they will change people’s lives for the
better.

Follow The Happy Cactus @ thehappycactusatx, or visit one of
their store locations at 5700 Menchaca Rd, Ste 520 or 3414 E
7TH St.