Texas Senate Allows Only CBD and CBG in Consumable Hemp Products
Summarize
The Texas Senate passed Senate Bill 5, which bans any product that contains a “detectable amount of any cannabinoid.” The only exceptions are CBD (cannabidiol) and CBG (cannabigerol). With the way this bill is written, most hemp-derived products would become illegal, even those legal per the federal 2018 Farm Bill. SB5 also raises the age to 21 for purchasing CBD products. The Texas House will now take up SB5 for consideration and reconciliation.
Allowing CBD and CBG while banning all THC is intended to close a loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill that enables retailers to sell various THC products. Governor Abbott vetoed a prior bill banning THC because it would deny people who rely on THC products for medicinal purposes access to those products, and banning THC would seriously harm the hemp industry. The current SB5 attempts to overcome these objections.
The language in SB5 banning THC but allowing only CBD and CBG means, in reality, that most hemp-derived products will be illegal. Full spectrum CBD products contain less than 0.3% THC, and broad spectrum CBD products may have a trace of THC. Also, these products contain other cannabinoids besides CBD and CBG.
Senator Charles Perry says medical marijuana will continue to be available through the Texas Compassionate Use Program (TCUP), which requires a doctor’s prescription. Senator Perry said,
“You go into one of these retail shops, they’re not doing blood tests, they’re not doing blood pressure, they’re not asking you about all of your issues. We have a TCUP program because it has all of those attributes of providing holistic help.”
However, some chronically ill people and veterans rely on CBD products that are currently more accessible and cheaper than medical marijuana products. These people will not be able to buy full spectrum or broad spectrum CBD products because they contain other cannabinoids besides CBD and CBG.
Governor Abbott wants THC regulated rather than banned. He supports banning “extraordinarily dangerous synthetic products.” He also supports banning sales of hemp products near locations that children frequent. SB5 now goes to the Texas House, where it must be reconciled with several proposed bills. If the final bill sent to Governor Abbott bans retail products containing THC, it is unknown whether he will approve or veto it.
There are several issues with SB5 besides cutting off people who find value in CBD products containing legal THC. One is that it criminalizes the manufacturing, sale, possession, and use of any consumable hemp product that contains any amount of a cannabinoid except CBD and CBG. It turns federally legal products into illegal ones. It seems the only products that will remain legal are the ones made with isolate CBD and isolate CBG because all the other cannabinoids are stripped out during processing.
Also, SB5 bans artificial or synthetic cannabinoids, but it does not define them, leaving a path for creative illicit retailers to develop new psychoactive products. Finally, the Texas hemp industry, from farming to retail, will be decimated should SB5 pass as it is currently written. No one knows at this point if the Texas House will vote for SB5 as it is written now or will make changes.
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