Dear Texas Monthly Editor
Access to hemp makes a difference in the lives of so many Texans. As the family that founded and operates The Happy Cactus Apothecary, we meet these folks every day. Since your story on hemp ran in the recent edition of Texas Monthly, many have asked us to share their stories and address the issues raised by the article.
Patty Boles describes herself as 75 years young and a believer in Christ Jesus. She feels blessed to be a parent, aunt, grandmother, and great-grandmother. For 43 years, she taught elementary school.
Patty’s story
At the age of 61, Patty experienced her first anxiety/panic attack. “It was terrifying, and I turned to my physician; he prescribed Lexapro, which helped. However, there was weight gain and a sense of not being myself. As time went on, I also began having trouble falling asleep. I turned to consuming small doses of over-the-counter sleep aids. These helped but left me with a morning hangover,” said Patty.
“Several years later, two additional attacks made me wonder if there might be an alternative. My beloved granddaughter suggested that I might visit Happy Cactus Apothecary in Austin, Texas. I will admit I was a bit skeptical about the use of Hemp products and overwhelmed by the array of them. The people took the time to listen and educate me about the products available. I left the apothecary with a small purchase of Delta 8 THC gummies.”
“What a revelation! I have been consuming half a gummy every night for approximately a year. I fall asleep peacefully and wake up refreshed and rested.”
“I have shared my experience with friends of my generation and firmly believe in this product’s benefits. I am grateful that I can purchase it so readily. I would be willing to argue the case for using Hemp products and their benefits.”
“Getting older is not for sissies. At my age, I am not ready to bow to anyone younger or anyone who has not tried them.”
Paige B’s story
Paige B is a single 32-year-old woman working two jobs. Her sciatica causes her trouble sleeping.
“I also am under a lot of stress DAILY, which makes it difficult to relax,” she said. “I am prescribed medication to help with the pain and to sleep, but it’s not something I want to be dependent on, so having one of the gummies from Happy Cactus Apothecary just before bedtime helps tremendously with relaxation and sleep.
She shared that without access to these products, she would be “extremely disappointed. I don’t want to rely on muscle relaxers & pain medication to help me sleep every night. I also quit drinking alcohol 4.5 years ago, and this is the BEST thing I have come across to help me ‘chill out’ when I am stressed.”
“I have genuinely never found a product that I can buy at a store that helps with my pain management, my trouble sleeping, and my mood. Finding Happy Cactus Apothecary has helped me feel better mentally and physically!”
Now, let’s take a closer look at some of the misconceptions in your story.
“The hemp industry argues that according to the letter of the law, the THCa level doesn’t matter. Any plant with less than 0.3 percent THC is hemp.”
The writer uses “THC” often in this article without describing which THC is being discussed: delta 9? delta 8? THCa?
Delta 9 THC is the only form of THC that is required to be less than 0.3 percent per dry weight. Defining the differences will provide the reader with more context. This lack of clear definitions is throughout the story.
“There was no way a plant that tested at legal THC levels at a manufacturing facility could test weeks later at 1.48 percent.”
What was the testing method for the White Wok sample? If it was tested with any type of heat, it most likely changed the plant’s chemical makeup, converting some THCa into delta-9 THC. Again, the article references THC levels without clarifying which form of THC they are referring to.
“Texas Monthly purchased smokable cannabis at eight dispensaries, two each in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. We bagged our purchases and sent them to Anresco for testing. All eight samples came back with delta-9 THC levels in excess of legal limits.”
We have serious questions about the laboratories’ methods. We respectfully ask for details about the testing procedures. More transparency is warranted and will benefit your readers. For example, did they use gas chromatography to test the samples? If so, that test includes heat, which will change the chemical makeup of the plant sample. To clarify, THCa degrades to delta 9 THC with heat, so a heated test would degrade the non-psychoactive THCa into the psychoactive delta 9 THC.
“His operation is regulated by Texas Department of Public Safety inspectors with the humorlessness of Soviet functionaries. They don’t worry him. What does are the thousands of licensed hemp dispensaries in the state that, he says, sell strains of cannabis that could lay low a three-hundred-pound rutting hog.” and enough to neutralize a half-ton bull alligator.”
Hemp is not to be used as a tranquilizer. Hyperbolic statements are unnecessary and only distract from an honest and science-based discussion about hemp use in Texas.
“The study tested 29 samples from prerolls and loose flower, all of which were sold with certificates indicating their THC was under 0.3 percent. Nineteen had levels above the limit. Factoring in the THCa, 25 were marijuana.”
What is meant by the term ‘factoring in.” Also, THCa is found in marijuana and hemp, which makes this statement confusing. Per the law, a cannabis plant containing high levels of THCa and less than .3% delta 9 THC is hemp. And a cannabis plant containing high levels of THCa and more than .3% delta 9 THC is marijuana. More explanation and context is needed to support this conclusion. Greater detail about testing procedures and laboratory standards is vital for a substantial discussion about access to hemp in Texas.
“Most of the hemp dispensaries out there, knowingly or unknowingly, are selling illegal federal marijuana. And they can do it because these stores operate at the crossroads of poorly written laws.”
These shops are selling legal Hemp flowers under the current written laws in Texas. Thanks to the plain language of those laws, Texans have access to hemp every day, which helps them with daily challenges.
“Texas Original grew alongside the program, adding customers and increasing revenue, Richardson said, until about 2023. He blames the proliferation of hemp dispensaries for this setback.”
The hemp dispensaries are not causing the setback – it is the unnecessarily restrictive laws in Texas surrounding the use of medical cannabis (marijuana). Those strict laws have put limits on what the Compassionate Use Program can sell; thus, the hemp dispensaries are legally filling in this gap for many Texans who need this plant for relief.
“Chemists and botanists in the hemp industry soon discovered that they could extract psychoactive compounds from hemp, such as THCa, thus skirting federal and state laws focused on delta-9 THC levels”
THCa is not a psychoactive compound. As previously mentioned, THCa can degrade into the psychoactive compound delta 9 THC with heat. Also, there is no need to extract THCa from Hemp; it occurs naturally in large amounts in Industrial Hemp (also known as THCa flower).
“Dispensary owners are confident they’re on the right side of the law.”
The law in Texas does not require testing to be done at any particular point in the plant’s life cycle. So if a THCa flower sample is tested before levels of delta-9 THC exceed legal limits, the plant is hemp and legal to sell in Texas. If that same sample (now packaged for sale) slowly or quickly converts (via heat) to having more than the legal limit of delta 9 THC, the law in Texas does not confirm that it is then an illegal product. Further testing is not required by Texas law after the initial testing. The law in Texas also doesn’t require any certain type of testing for hemp flower. For example, if we get a liquid chromatography test initially done for a hemp flower sample, and it doesn’t exceed the legal limits of delta 9 THC, it is legal to sell in Texas. Now, suppose that same sample is tested days or months later in Texas by an organization trying to determine its legality. In that case, they will most likely use gas chromatography testing here in Texas, which then heats the sample, degrading some of the THCa into delta 9 THC. If this change then provides the new test results with over-the-limit amounts of delta 9 THC, there is nowhere in Texas law saying that the sample is now illegal since its initial tests were within legal limits of delta 9 THC.
“Texas Monthly purchased two joints from its location across the street from a high school in South Austin.”
Despite there being no rules or regulations regarding age and consumption of hemp in the state of Texas (even though the local hemp industry has asked the state to regulate with an age gate), it has always been our policy not to sell THC products to anyone under 21. In fact, a person must be 21 or older to view our website. Furthermore, we are sending a letter to the High School advising them that their students are not welcome at our establishment and inviting them to work with us to keep them from entering our store.
“At a recent legislative hearing, state senator José Menéndez, a San Antonio Democrat, reflected on the spread of legal hemp stores selling products chemically similar to marijuana. ‘In a way, inadvertently, we passed a law that sort of legalized the use of cannabis in the state of Texas,’ he said.”
This language is confusing to the reader as hemp and marijuana are both “cannabis.” So yes, cannabis with less than 0.3% delta 9 THC is legal to use in Texas. If he is indeed referring to marijuana, then no, Texas has not legalized it. Texas has legalized hemp. What these shops are selling is technically and scientifically hemp.
We appreciate this opportunity to share with your readers the stories of our clients and additional information to provide broader context and the need to dig deeper into the science of testing Hemp products.
We believe we help our clients every single day. We do it legally and feel morally just because we see the difference it makes in their lives.
Thank you, Todd Harris Mickey Harris The Happy Cactus Apothecary
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