cannabis

Companies seek immediate pause of rules, accusing Texas regulators of effectively banning smokable products, raising fees beyond what's allowed and sidestepping rulemaking requirements.

Texas says new rules banning sales of smokable hemp also apply to out-of-state companies. But cannabis lawyers question the rules and Austin police won't confiscate hemp if you have the packaging.

New rules from state health officials ban smokeable intoxicating hemp products, including pre-rolled joints and hemp flower.

New state rules change how THC levels are calculated and raise fees on hemp businesses by as much as 4,000%

The Department of State Health Services is considering new rules for the Texas hemp industry that would require child-resistant packaging, stronger warning labels, sharply higher fees and effectively ban smokeable flower and extracts.

Fort Worth business owners worry the THC industry in Texas could be crippled after Congress closed a 2018 cannabis loophole.

More than 6,000 Texas smoke shops and related businesses could be forced to shut down if the ban goes into effect next November as scheduled. The industry is organizing a lobbying effort to get Congress to rewrite the law from a blanket prohibition to a regulatory approach.

The meeting covered the rules that were proposed last month by the TABC in response to Gov. Greg Abbott's executive order issued earlier this year.

The executive order comes after the Legislature ended a special session without the House, Senate and governor agreeing on restrictions.

A new state law outlaws sales of any vapes containing cannabinoids that would otherwise be legal in Texas, but possession is not explicitly prohibited.

Dallas and the Texas Attorney General's office jointly asked a court to issue a temporary injunction blocking a voter-approved measure decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana.

Lawmakers are expected to hold a special session next month to set new regulations on the state's multi-billion dollar hemp industry.