Texas Senate Bill 3, the 2025 measure that would have banned nearly all consumable hemp products containing THC, was passed by both chambers of the Texas Legislature and then vetoed by Governor Greg Abbott on June 22, 2025. The veto killed the outright THC ban, but it did not leave the market untouched: a special session, an executive order, emergency agency rules, a separate vape law, and ongoing litigation have all changed what Texans can legally buy and sell, and a new federal standard is set to take effect in November 2026.
What SB 3 Would Have Banned
Senator Charles Perry filed SB 3 on February 20, 2025. The bill would have limited consumable hemp products to those containing only cannabidiol (CBD) or cannabigerol (CBG), the two non-intoxicating cannabinoids. Manufacturing, selling, distributing, or possessing any consumable hemp product with any other cannabinoid would have been unlawful, wiping out the legal market for delta-8, delta-9, and THCA products regardless of concentration.1Texas Legislature. SB 3, 89th Legislature, Introduced Version
The penalties were serious. Manufacturing, delivering, or possessing THC products with intent to deliver would have been a third-degree felony. Simple possession of non-CBD/CBG products started as a Class A misdemeanor, though a House floor amendment by Representative Joe Moody later reduced possession for most individuals to a Class C misdemeanor with a fine of up to $500, no jail time, and an option for expungement.2Texas Tribune. Texas House THC Hemp Senate Bill 3 Ban Additional misdemeanors covered sales to anyone under 21, packaging attractive to minors, sales within 1,000 feet of a school, mail or courier delivery, and manufacturing products intended for smoking.1Texas Legislature. SB 3, 89th Legislature, Introduced Version
Retailers would have been required to register each location with the Texas Department of State Health Services. Products would have needed testing by ISO/IEC 17025 accredited labs, tamper-evident and child-resistant packaging, and labels certifying that any cannabinoid other than CBD or CBG did not exceed 0.0001% by dry weight. DSHS could have imposed administrative penalties up to $10,000 per violation.1Texas Legislature. SB 3, 89th Legislature, Introduced Version
The bill had strong political backing. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick led the charge in the Senate, describing THC products as “dangerous, highly-potent, uncontrolled” substances that were “destroying lives.”3Houston Public Media. Texas House Passes Total Ban on THC The final version passed the House 87-54 on May 22, 2025, and the Senate concurred three days later.4Texas Legislature. SB 3 Actions, 89th Legislature
Opposition was bipartisan. Representative Ken King, a Republican from Canadian, argued: “I don’t think Prohibition worked in 1920. It’s not going to work in the 2020s.” Representative Brian Harrison, a Republican from Midlothian, called the bill “overly broad” and warned it would shutter small businesses while pushing consumers to “more addictive and deadly pharmaceuticals or to the black market.” Representative Josey Garcia, a San Antonio Democrat, argued that veterans relied on legal THC products for PTSD and chronic pain.3Houston Public Media. Texas House Passes Total Ban on THC Industry advocates described hemp as a $4.3 billion Texas industry supporting roughly 53,000 jobs.5Texas Cannabis Policy Center. Texas SB 3 Overview
Why Governor Abbott Vetoed the Bill
Abbott vetoed SB 3 on June 22, 2025. His veto message framed the decision as pragmatic rather than ideological, focused on whether the ban could actually be enforced. He argued the bill would criminalize products the 2018 Farm Bill had legalized and was therefore likely preempted by federal law, pointing to a 2023 federal district court ruling in Bio Gen, LLC v. Sanders, where a similar Arkansas law was halted for conflicting with federal statute and containing unconstitutionally vague criminal provisions. He also raised the prospect of an unconstitutional regulatory taking of businesses built on federally protected expectations.6Office of the Texas Governor. Governor Abbott Vetoes Senate Bill 3
“If I were to allow Senate Bill 3 to become law, its enforcement would be enjoined for years, leaving existing abuses unaddressed,” Abbott wrote. “Texas needs a bill that is enforceable and will make our communities safer today, rather than years from now.”7Houston Public Media. Gov. Abbott Vetoes Texas THC Ban, Calls Special Session to Regulate Hemp
Alongside the veto, Abbott called a special legislative session beginning July 21, 2025, and proposed a regulatory model built on alcohol regulation principles: mandatory store permits, age-21 sales, bans on sales near schools and churches, restricted hours from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. with no Sunday sales, child-resistant packaging, testing at every production stage, warning labels, excise taxes, and felony penalties for fraudulent lab results.6Office of the Texas Governor. Governor Abbott Vetoes Senate Bill 3
Patrick was furious. He noted the Senate had passed a THC ban “3 times this year” and that SB 3 had the support of 105 of 108 Republican legislators.8Office of the Texas Lt. Governor. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick Statement on the Governor’s THC Executive Order
What Replaced SB 3
The Special Session Bill That Died
During the second special session in August 2025, Senate Bill 6 was introduced as a new attempt to regulate hemp-derived products, including occupational licenses, registration, fees, criminal offenses, and administrative penalties. The Senate engrossed the bill on August 19, but the House Public Health Committee received it on August 20 and took no further action. It died there.9LegiScan. SB 6, 89th Legislature, 2nd Called Session
Executive Order GA-56
With the legislature stalled, Abbott issued Executive Order GA-56 on September 10, 2025. It directed DSHS and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission to prohibit hemp product sales to minors, require age verification with government-issued identification at the point of sale, and revoke the licenses of retailers that failed to comply. The order also told DSHS to begin updating rules on testing, labeling, licensing fees, and recordkeeping, and ordered a joint study on a broader regulatory framework.10Office of the Texas Governor. Governor Abbott Issues Executive Order to Protect Children From Hemp Products
TABC adopted emergency rules on September 23, 2025, effective October 1. TABC-licensed businesses cannot provide consumable hemp products to anyone under 21 and must inspect a valid government-issued ID for every sale. Violations can result in cancellation of the TABC license.11TABC. Industry Notice: TABC Adopts Emergency Rules on Consumable Hemp Products
The Cannabinoid Vape Ban
A separate law moved on a parallel track. Senate Bill 2024 took effect September 1, 2025, making it illegal to sell or advertise e-cigarettes containing THC, hemp-derived cannabinoids (including delta-8 and THCA), kratom, kava, alcohol, or mushrooms. It also banned vapes manufactured in China and other designated foreign adversary countries and expanded the legal definition of e-cigarettes to include non-nicotine vapes. Violations are a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $4,000.12Texas Legislature. SB 2024, 89th Legislature, Analysis13KERA News. Texas Legislature Bills New Laws
DSHS Rules on “Total THC” and Smokable Hemp
On March 31, 2026, DSHS put updated regulations in place that changed how THC is measured. Laboratories must now calculate “total THC,” which includes THCA, the precursor that converts to psychoactive delta-9 THC when heated. Any product exceeding 0.3% total THC by dry weight is noncompliant. That measurement change effectively banned smokable hemp flower and pre-rolls, because raw hemp flower naturally contains THCA above the threshold once the precursor is counted. The rules also raised licensing fees dramatically, from $258 to $10,000 for manufacturers and from $155 to $5,000 for retailers, with violations carrying license revocation and daily fines up to $10,000.14Texas Tribune. Texas Hemp Smokeable Ban Joints Lawsuit
Ongoing Litigation
Hemp businesses have not accepted the new rules quietly. The Texas Hemp Business Council, Hemp Industry and Farmers of America, and several Texas dispensaries and manufacturers sued DSHS and the Health and Human Services Commission, arguing the agencies overstepped their constitutional authority by rewriting statutory definitions the legislature itself chose not to change during the 89th session. The Texas Tribune described the resulting court activity as a “dizzying string of court actions,” including a Travis County temporary injunction that the state appealed. As of mid-2026, the Texas 15th Court of Appeals had granted a temporary reprieve allowing continued sales of smokable hemp, with further hearings pending.14Texas Tribune. Texas Hemp Smokeable Ban Joints Lawsuit15Texas Public Radio. Judge Rules to Temporarily Block Texas Smokeable Hemp Ban
An earlier lawsuit filed June 20, 2025 in Travis County District Court, CBD Pros USA v. Texas, sought to block SB 3 itself. CBD Pros USA, Caprock Family Farms, and Benuvia Operations argued the bill was preempted by the 2018 Farm Bill and constituted an unconstitutional regulatory taking. The veto mooted the immediate question, but the same theories now anchor the smokable hemp challenge.16KXAN. CBD Pros USA v. Texas, Original Petition
The Federal Change Coming in November 2026
What SB 3 could not accomplish at the state level may arrive from Washington. On November 12, 2025, the Continuing Appropriations Act (H.R. 5371) was enacted, redefining hemp under federal law. The old standard of 0.3% delta-9 THC by dry weight is replaced with a “total THC” standard that includes delta-9, THCA, and other cannabinoids with similar effects. For finished consumer products intended for ingestion, inhalation, or topical use, the new limit is 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container, a threshold low enough to eliminate most intoxicating hemp products from the legal market. Synthetic cannabinoids are excluded from the hemp definition entirely. These provisions take effect November 12, 2026.17Arnold & Porter. Major Changes to Federal Regulation of Hemp-Derived Products
Houston Public Media reported that hemp-derived sales in Texas totaled roughly $5.5 billion in 2025, with an overall economic impact approaching $11 billion. More than 6,000 Texas smoke shops and related businesses face potential closure under the federal restrictions, and economist Beau Whitney projected the loss of at least 53,000 jobs statewide.18Houston Public Media. Texas Hemp Federal THC Ban Congress
A repeal effort, H.R. 6209, was introduced in the House on November 20, 2025 by Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina, though its prospects are uncertain.17Arnold & Porter. Major Changes to Federal Regulation of Hemp-Derived Products For now, Texas hemp sits between state agencies pursuing restrictions through rulemaking, courts weighing whether those agencies have the authority to do so, and a federal ban that could redraw the market before the state resolves its own approach.