Texas’ Latest THC-Product Restrictions Effective July 31

New THC product restrictions enacted by the Texas Department of Health Services go into effect Friday, banning the sale of any THC products containing delta-6, delta-8, delta-10, or THCP.

The move comes after the Texas Supreme Court ruled in May that the TDHS has the authority to adopt regulations restricting the sale of such products.
Hemp manufacturers and hemp-product retailers began a multi-year legal fight with the state after TDHS adopted new regulations in 2021 that recognized only delta-9 THC products.

As a result of the Court's May ruling, 2021 definitions for certain types of tetrahydrocannabinols were published this month in the Texas Register and go into effect July 31, effectively banning much of what many Texas retail stores have been selling.

Retailers have utilized broadcast advertising to promote THC product availability after the Texas Legislature passed a 2019 bill that legalized the production, manufacture, and sale of industrial hemp products containing no more than 0.3% of delta-9 THC.

The legislation also allows the sale of consumable hemp products containing cannabidiol (CBD).

What followed was an explosion of retail outlets selling such products and exploitation of a perceived loophole allowing the sale of products containing the other active THC compounds noted above.

The situation came to a head in the 2025 legislative session when Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called for an outright ban on the sale of THC products.

Lawmakers passed such a bill, but it was vetoed by Gov. Greg Abbott.

Abbott noted that SB 3, while "well-intentioned," would never go into effect because of "valid constitutional challenges."

Instead, he called for the concern to be addressed more surgically by lawmakers in a summer special session, but that effort failed.

The Texas Senate Committee on Health and Human Services has met this year on an interim charge studying the manufacture and sale of THC products, and Capitol denizens expect the Texas Senate to again pursue a complete ban when lawmakers reconvene for the 90th Texas Legislature in January.

In another development related to the sale of hemp-based THC products, earlier this year TDHS implemented new, higher annual retailer registration fees and manufacturing licenses.

Hemp retailers balked at the $5,000+ per location registration fees and argued in court that the fees would put thousands of Texas hemp-product retailers out of business.

After several court injunctions, the new fees are active.

Meanwhile in Congress, the wide-ranging 2026 farm bill, HR 7567 by U.S. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson, R-PA, passed the U.S. House of Representatives in April and awaits action by the U.S. Senate.

It includes language delaying the implementation of the 2025 provision limiting the sale of hemp-derived products.

The outright THC ban was part of last November's stop-gap spending measure signed into law by President Donald J. Trump.

That provision is set to go into effect this fall, but HR 7567 would delay it until 2028 to allow the industry time to adjust.

The bill also seeks to relieve industrial hemp growers of certain federal regulatory burdens.

With the flurry of activity surrounding the hemp-based THC product industry, one should note that the Texas medical marijuana industry will not be impacted.

Since 2015, Texas' Compassionate Use Program has allowed the prescription and sale of low dose THC products derived from the marijuana plant (cannabis sativa), a relative of the hemp plant. By the end of 2025, the Texas DPS reported 135,470 patients in the Texas CUP Registry, a 32 percent increase over 2024.

New qualifying conditions were added in 2025 such as terminal illness, inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease, and traumatic brain injury. The industry will see new cultivating and processing facilities and new dispensary locations statewide in 2026. The Texas Department of Public Safety has issued provisional licenses to nine new medical marijuana operators. Also new for CUP - prescription inhalers and marijuana products with higher THC limits.

TAB Guidance on CBD-Product Advertising

While the sale and advertising of certain types of THC and CBD-related cannabis products is currently legal, TAB reminds stations that the existing regulations that allow it are quite specific. Stations accepting such advertising do so at their own risk and therefore must perform the necessary due diligence or risk the consequences of advertising an illegal product.

TAB's state counsel Jackson Walker LLP has prepared an advisory for TAB members on advertising marijuana and hemp-based CBD products under current Texas law.

View TAB's CBD Advertisement Legal Advisory.

The main takeaways from the advisory are:

• Marijuana remains illegal in almost all contexts, and only three entities are authorized to dispense it for medical use under the Texas "compassionate use" law. Broadcasters should deal only with those entities and should not air advertisements that depict the consumption of marijuana.
• Broadcasters should avoid advertisements depicting consumption, suggesting illegal drug use, targeting children, or promising miraculous medicinal results that have not been adopted by the FDA.
• Broadcasters should avoid advertisements for CBD products derived from any source other than legal hemp.
• Broadcasters should also ask advertisers to warrant the purity and THC content of their products-only hemp-derived products with Delta-9 THC in concentrations less than 0.3% are legal.
• Broadcasters should only air advertisements for CBD processed by licensed manufacturers, from hemp grown by licensed producers, and sold by registered distributors. Where possible, broadcasters should obtain appropriate representations, warranties, indemnification, or other certifications from prospective advertisers as to those issues.

Questions? Contact TAB's Michael Schneider or call (512) 322-9944.