April 4, 2025 | Legislative A Tale of Two Bills to Decide Fate of Texas Hemp Industry In just days, the Texas hemp industry faces what may be its defining moment since legalization in 2019. The House State Affairs Committee, chaired by Representative Ken King, will convene Monday morning to hear testimony on two bills with starkly different visions for the future of hemp in Texas…. Read Article
April 3, 2025 | Legislative, Texas Legal & Regulatory News SB3 to be heard in Texas House State Affairs Committee Monday morning at 8am the Texas House State Affairs Committee will begin, and will include SB3 on their agenda for the day along with HB 28. This does not mean that the committee will hear the bill the first thing in the morning. It is possible that other bills may be added and heard first [&hell… Read Article
April 2, 2025 | Legislative, Texas Legal & Regulatory News CRAFT Leads the Way in Hemp Compliance as SB 3 Threatens Industry CRAFT Leads the Way in Hemp Compliance as SB 3 Threatens Industry As the Texas Legislature debates SB 3—a bill that would ban all THC products—responsible hemp retailers across the state are stepping up to protect their businesses, their customers, and their communities. For the pas… Read Article
March 27, 2025 | Texas Legal & Regulatory News Patrick Takes Budget Hostage, Demands House Pass SB 3 “The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it.”—Brandolini’s Law Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has once again made clear that he’s willing to derail the state’s legislative agenda unless lawmakers deliver on two of his highest priorities: a sweepi… Read Article
March 24, 2025 | Pop Culture Large Majority of Texas Voters want THC to Remain Legal A survey of likely Texas voters indicates 68% support keeping THC legal in Texas, but strictly regulated. Only 20% prefer an outright ban of consumable THC. The actual survey question was presented as shown below: __________________________________________________________________________________ … Read Article
March 24, 2025 | Legislative Lies, Damned Lies, and “Loopholes How Texas Lawmakers Created the Hemp Market They Now Want to Ban “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.”—Mark Twain Following a playbook more than a century old, Texas Prohibitionists have pushed the false claim that hemp producers and retailers exploited a “lo… Read Article
March 20, 2025 | Business, Football Ricky Williams Joins SB3 Fight Will $475,000 Campaign Help Bring a 4th Quarter Win? Former Longhorn and Heisman winner Ricky Williams hopes to sway Texas lawmakers on cannabis legislation. He co-founded Project Champion with former NFL athletes Jim McMahon and Kyle Turley. Together, the trio hopes to use their influence — and … Read Article
March 20, 2025 | Texas Legal & Regulatory News The Big Smear: False and Misleading Claims Dan Patrick and Sen. Perry’s Press Conference Deconstructed and Debunked Executive Summary On March 19, 2025, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick hosted a legislative briefing to address the proliferation of synthetic THC products across the state. The briefing centered on Senate Bill 3, introduced by Senator Charles Perry, which aims to ban these products completel… Read Article
March 19, 2025 | Business, News Happy Cactus Team “Cards” Texas Lt. Governor Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick Visits Responsibly-Managed Austin-Based Legal-Hemp Retailer Yesterday, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick visited the Happy Cactus, a legal hemp retailer in Austin, Texas. When Patrick entered the store, the employees asked for identification to verify his… Read Article
March 18, 2025 | News Lt Dan. Making House Calls In an effort to remain vigilant and true to his word Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick is now making house calls to area store owners in a measure of enforcement that goes right to the top! Employees of south Austin store owner Todd Harris of the Happy Cactus were greeted with questions about produc… Read Article
March 15, 2025 | Texas Legal & Regulatory News Texas Hemp: True Economic Numbers “Who are you going to believe, me or your own lying eyes?” — Groucho Marx, noted comedian and cigar enthusiast This week’s release of the Whitney Economics study on the Texas Hemp Industry should have been an eye-opener—at least for anyone willing to acknowledge reality. The more I review the num… Read Article
March 14, 2025 | The Drug War A History of Marijuana Prohibition Fueled by Fear and Prejudice In the early 20th century, a new moral crusade took root in Texas against a little-known intoxicant: marijuana. Local headlines warned of a “native Mexican herb which causes the smoker to crave murder” . Preachers, politicians, and press alike painted cannabis as a menace lurking in immigrant com… Read Article
March 11, 2025 | Texas Legal & Regulatory News Whitney: Economic Impact of the Texas Hemp Industry Total Market Value: The Texas hemp-derived cannabinoid industry generates $5.5 billion annually. • Retail Sales: The retail sector alone contributes $4.3 billion in revenue. • Overall Economic Impact: The industry supports $10.2 billion in total economic activity. • Tax Contributions: Hemp-derive… Read Article
March 11, 2025 | Business, Legislative The Economic Toll of SB 3: How Restrictive Hemp Legislation Could Devastate Texas’ Economy Texas, as the state anthem says, is “supremely blessed“ as the nation’s second largest economy—in the top ten in the world if it were considered an independent nation surpassing nations like Canada and Russia, with businesses relocations and startups benefitting from low taxes and regulations, ec… Read Article
March 10, 2025 | Legislative The Fear Machine: How Chief Steve Dye’s Testimony Fuels a Bogus Prohibition System The Fear Machine: How Chief Steve Dye’s Testimony Fuels a Bogus Prohibition System Chief Steve Dye isn’t a bad man. By all accounts, he is a law enforcement officer who sincerely believes that his work helps keep Texans safe. When he testified in favor of Senate Bill 3 and Senate Bill 1505—propos… Read Article