Will TABC regulate hemp in Texas?

With THC slated to be a hot topic at July’s special legislative session, many Texans are asking where hemp regulation in Texas will fall.

Heather Fazio, Director of the Texas Cannabis Policy Center, said that while Texans could see an over-arching regulatory entity exclusively for cannabis, “I think in the meantime the writing is on the wall with TABC (Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission).”

“The governor mentioned it in his proclamation,” she said. “We think that there should at minimum be a regulatory division within TABC that’s dedicated to hemp so they have staff that understands the plant, understands consumers and understands the market. But I think that we can expect that this is the direction that our government is choosing to go.”

Fazio spoke at the June 28 “Assembly of Smoke & Strategy” event at Lucyland in New Braunfels, where an audience member posed the question about TABC regulation in the hemp industry.

“This is an adult-use product like alcohol,” Fazio said. “They have boots on the ground, they have the operations already in place. It makes sense that they would go in that direction in spite of my thought, which is that that’s not the most ideal situation.”

While many industry stakeholders echo Fazio’s opinion, she said designating a regulatory body is one of many kinks that will have to be worked out.

“But let us remember that this is the beginning of cannabis being legal forever in Texas,” she said. “There are going to be bumps along the road. We know that even in states like Colorado, they still have to go back every session and fix things or defend things. So the cannabis industry right now is at an inflection point, a maturity point.”