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Tag: Veto SB3

Texans Forced to Choose Between Pain or Firearms

Written by Jay Maguire on . Posted in Legislative.

It’s not a hypothetical. It’s not a loophole. It’s the law—and it’s targeting some of the most vulnerable Texans.

Every patient in the Texas Compassionate Use Program (TCUP), our state’s limited medical marijuana registry, is already in legal jeopardy under federal law. The moment a Texan with PTSD, cancer, epilepsy, or chronic pain enrolls in TCUP and begins legally using low-THC marijuana prescribed by a licensed physician, they are—under federal law—a “prohibited person” who can no longer legally own or possess a firearm.

Most of them have no idea.

Here’s why: under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), anyone who is an “unlawful user” of a controlled substance—even if that substance is legal under Texas law—loses their Second Amendment rights. No guns. No ammunition. No recourse.

This isn’t a bureaucratic technicality. It’s enforced.

Every legal gun sale in Texas requires ATF Form 4473, which explicitly warns that marijuana is still a Schedule I drug federally and that “the use or possession of marijuana remains unlawful under Federal law regardless of whether it has been legalized or decriminalized for medicinal or recreational purposes in the state where you reside.”

If a TCUP patient answers “no” to the question about marijuana use, they’ve committed a felony punishable by up to five years in federal prison for lying on a government form. If they answer “yes,” they are denied the right to purchase—and could face federal charges simply for possessing the firearms they already legally owned prior to enrollment.

Veterans. Retirees. Rural Texans. People who have carried and relied on a firearm their entire adult lives. These are not criminals. They are patients who did what the state asked: registered for a tightly regulated program to access medicine recommended by their doctor.

And now? They are in the federal government’s crosshairs.

This is not a new law—it’s been on the books since the 1960s—but it has taken on new urgency as SB 3 threatens to eliminate most over-the-counter hemp-derived THC products in Texas, forcing tens of thousands of Texans to either suffer without relief or pivot into TCUP. They’ll be walking straight into a legal trap.

The hypocrisy is staggering. The same political leaders who campaign on defending gun rights and medical freedom are now backing policies that funnel citizens into a government-run marijuana registry—and in doing so, strip them of the very constitutional rights those leaders swore to protect.

No one should have to choose between relief from debilitating pain and the right to protect their home and family. But that’s exactly what Texas patients are facing.

Governor Abbott has the opportunity—and the obligation—to recognize this injustice. By vetoing SB 3, he can protect not only patient access to safe, legal hemp-derived relief, but also the constitutional rights of thousands of Texans who trusted their doctors and their state.

If he signs it, he owns it.

Because when a veteran who served his country with honor is forced to turn in his firearms simply for treating his PTSD with legal, state-approved marijuana, it won’t be Dan Patrick’s name they remember.

It’ll be Greg Abbott’s.

Why Governor Abbott Must Veto SB 3

Written by Jay Maguire on . Posted in Legislative.

 

Lt. Governor Dan Patrick is selling Texans a fraud—and calling it reform. Senate Bill 3, his signature attempt to ban nearly all hemp-derived THC products, is nothing short of a full-spectrum assault on personal liberty, small business, patient access, and constitutional rights. With a straight face and a white coat, Patrick is using the language of public health to disguise what is ultimately a prohibitionist power grab.

 

Governor Abbott must veto SB 3. Here’s why:

 

1. They’re Coming for Your Guns, Not Just Your Gummies

 

When a Texan signs up for medical cannabis through TCUP, they’re unknowingly walking into a legal buzzsaw. Overnight, they become a “prohibited person” under federal law—no firearms, no ammo, no recourse. This isn’t some bureaucratic technicality. It’s disarmament disguised as medicine. And Dan Patrick knows damn well what it means. He’s banking on Texans not reading the fine print.

 

2. They’re Yanking Relief Right Off the Shelf

 

For years, Texans have had legal access to over-the-counter hemp products like Delta-8 and Delta-9. These products have helped veterans sleep, cancer patients eat, and working folks manage stress without jumping through hoops. SB 3 would rip those remedies off the shelves and toss them in the trash, forcing everyone into a system they neither asked for nor need.

 

3. They Shut Down the Corner Store and Opened a Toll Booth

 

With SB 3 outlawing OTC hemp and forcing patients into TCUP, Patrick’s plan funnels every Texan into a tightly controlled, DPS-operated monopoly. The state isn’t offering medicine—it’s charging admission. And only a select few companies, cozy with the Capitol crowd, get to collect the toll.

 

4. They’re Pricing Pain Relief Like It’s Platinum

 

Once they’ve shut down your neighborhood shop, they’ll send you to a DPS-licensed dispensary where the price tag is as steep as the red tape. Insurance won’t cover a drop, and the product selection is as sparse as a West Texas rainstorm. The folks who need it most—veterans, seniors, and working-class Texans—are left high and dry.

 

5. They’ll Nail You Whether You Tell the Truth or Not

 

Want to follow the law? Tell the ATF you’re a TCUP patient—and kiss your gun rights goodbye. Want to keep your rifle? Lie on the form—and risk a felony. Patrick’s “compassionate” policy is a legal booby trap, rigged to criminalize honest Texans either way.

6. They’re Using Junk Science to Kick in Your Door

 

Patrick’s DPS has been storming small businesses using discredited lab tests and manipulated data. The Texas Forensic Science Commission warned against it—three times. But instead of fixing the problem, Patrick leaned into it, letting politics override science to justify sweeping raids. That ain’t law enforcement—it’s showbiz with badges.

 

7. They’re Letting Their Buddies Cash In Behind Closed Doors

 

Under the new TCUP rules, investors can stay anonymous. That means lobbyists, donors, and political cronies can rake in the profits while Texans lose access, lose jobs, and lose everything they’ve built. It’s medicine for the rich and raids for the rest.

 

8. They’re Crying Wolf While Texans Suffer

 

Patrick stood on the Senate floor waving horror stories about vomiting, psychosis, and panic attacks. But the facts tell a different tale. These so-called dangers are rare, extreme, and usually tied to long-term heavy use. Meanwhile, Tylenol and Imodium cause more ER visits than cannabinoids ever have. It’s classic Patrick: distract, distort, and divide.

 

—

 

The Verdict: Texans Are Getting Played, Not Protected

 

They’re losing their guns, their medicine, their freedom to choose, and their right to run a business—all so Patrick and his allies can consolidate power, control markets, and cloak prohibition in the language of compassion.

 

This bill is a lie wrapped in a lab coat and tied with campaign cash.

 

Governor Abbott: Veto SB 3. Texans see the game. Don’t play.