The governor of Texas blocked what would have been one of the nation’s strictest bans on hemp products, and directed legislators to take up regulation of hemp in a special session.
Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas vetoed a bill late Sunday that would have created one of the nation’s strictest bans on the sale of intoxicants made from hemp, maintaining the state’s fast-growing market for the products at least for now.
The ban bill was pushed through the Legislature last month by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a hard-line conservative, and was fiercely resisted by consumers and by the growing number of businesses across Texas that sell gummies, joints, drinks and other products derived from hemp.
The law would have made it a crime in Texas to possess or sell consumable hemp products with a detectable amount of THC, the psychoactive chemical produced naturally by the cannabis plant. Texas does not allow the recreational use of marijuana, as hemp with a high THC content is known, though the state has a limited medical marijuana program.
Mr. Abbott waited until the final minutes before the ban would have automatically become law to issue his veto.
In a statement issued along with the veto, he said the hemp ban would have been challenged immediately in the courts. He directed lawmakers to return to the State Capitol next month to take up the issue of regulating the industry instead of banning it.
“Texas must strongly regulate hemp, and it must do so immediately,” Mr. Abbott said in his statement.
The veto put the governor sharply at odds with Mr. Patrick, who wields considerable power in the state.
At a news conference on Monday, Mr. Patrick said Mr. Abbott surprised him with the veto after signaling he would support the bill, and said he would not be open to a regulatory bill in a special session, suggesting regulation of hemp products would amount to a de facto legalization of marijuana.
“One can only come to this conclusion, which surprises me: the governor of the state of Texas wants to legalize recreational marijuana in Texas,” Mr. Patrick said. “What kind of what kind of state do we want? What kind of culture do we want? Do we want everybody high?”
Mr. Patrick added, “You cannot regulate 8 to 9,000 locations,” he added, referring to the rough number of Texas licenses to sell hemp-derived consumable products. “I will not sign a bill that legalizes marijuana in Texas,” he said. “I will not gavel it down.”
