Hemp

The Texas Fifteenth Court of Appeals has cleared the way for new Department of State Health Services rules governing hemp products to take effect again, including higher fees for businesses and limits on the sale of THCA flower and concentrates.

Texas says new rules banning sales of smokable hemp also apply to out-of-state companies. But cannabis lawyers question the rules and Austin police won't confiscate hemp if you have the packaging.

Attorneys for hemp businesses say the raids have hurt their revenue and reputation, while police said they’re necessary to root out products with illegal levels of THC.

Farmers in the U.S. have grown cannabis since the 1600s — but policymakers are still figuring out how to regulate two famous types of Cannabis sativa. A historian calls the plant "incredibly cryptic."

The meeting covered the rules that were proposed last month by the TABC in response to Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order issued earlier this year.

Kentucky Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell managed to slide a last-minute provision into last week's continuing resolution to end the government shutdown. The provision called for the banning of the sale of hemp-derived products that include more than .4 milligrams of THC per container.

The day after the bill to reopen the government became law, Texas business owners react to the banning of their main product, a hemp-derived THC.

The federal spending bill aimed at ending the ongoing government shutdown could also wipe out the nation’s hemp-derived THC industry, including products that have become popular and widespread across Texas.

The sweeping federal spending measure now working its way through Congress could reopen the federal government, but it could outlaw virtually all hemp-derived THC products in Texas and across the United States. This would comprise all Delta 8 products including edibles.

Education Reporter Camille Phillips wanted to know if a ban on hemp sales to minors could cut down on the number of Texas students punished for vaping. Here's what she found out.