Texas state health officials have proposed raising licensing fees by as much as 13,000% for some hemp businesses.
The licensing fee, among a slate of changes, may contribute to ceasing small operation in favor of large outof- state companies, though supporters say it is necessary to strengthen oversite the industry.
Ast month, the Texas Department of State Health Services published a set of proposed rules to tighten regulations on consumable hemp products, including establishing a minimum purchasing age of 21, along with age verification requirements and mandatory product recalls, which the hemp industry generally supports, but they have a problem with the new testing requirements and increases in licensing fees.
Manufacturer licenses would increase from $250 to $25,000 per facility per year and retail registration from $150 to $20,000 per location per year.
Additionally, industry members say the new requirements on testing THC levels in consumable hemp products would eliminate the use of the hemp flower in manufacturing products like edibles and smokeables which generally contain higher levels of THC.
Hemp distributors said the new licensing fee is a fundamental restructuring of who can afford to operate legally in Texas.
Supporters of the licensing fee increase said this is a necessary step to protect children from hemp products and want more enforcement of penalties on hemp stores that operate without a license.
Aubree Adams, director of Citizens for a Safe and Healthy Texas, called for more regulations on the industry, including raising the minimum age to purchase to 25 and requiring that hemp businesses also help pay for public education, data collection, treatment, infrastructure, and more.
Multiple veterans also spoke out against eliminating products naturally derived from hemp flower because many rely on them to sleep or address issues like PTSD and anxiety, and removing regulated access to hemp flower will not eliminate consumer demand, but push it back into the unregulated market.
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and the Texas Department of State Health Services have been working together and both proposed new rules aimed at regulating the consumable hemp market to fulfill an executive order by Gov. Greg Abbott.
The executive order came after the Texas Legislature spent the better part of last year debating whether to ban consumable hemp products or just provide stricter regulations over the industry.
A total ban approved by both the House of Representatives and the Senate was vetoed by Abbott last summer. The governor then put THC regulation on the agenda for two consecutive special sessions, but no compromise was accomplished before the end of the second session.
The public comment portion is expected to end on Jan. 26, but it’s unclear when these rules will be implemented if approved.