The Chronicle has reported often on the wholeass mess Texas has made of its cannabis laws and regulations since it finally took the plunge in 2019 to create a legal hemp industry in the state. Both HB 1325 and the federal 2018 Farm Bill, which for the first time deemed low-THC hemp a legal agricultural commodity, include provisions intended to draw bright lines between legal and illegal cannabis production. The Texas law stipulates that growers and producers licensed by the Texas Department of Agriculture cannot process or manufacture hemp for smoking or vaping. Instead, HB 1325 directs the Department of State Health Services to devise a regulatory scheme for distributors and retailers. When DSHS rolled out its Consumable Hemp Program in August 2020, it excluded from it any hemp products meant to be smoked or vaped.

Source: Washington Post November 11, 2021 19:18 UTC