{"id":10705,"date":"2025-06-24T12:29:18","date_gmt":"2025-06-24T12:29:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/10705\/"},"modified":"2025-06-24T12:29:18","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T12:29:18","slug":"houston-smoke-shops-celebrate-abbotts-veto-of-thc-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/10705\/","title":{"rendered":"Houston Smoke Shops Celebrate Abbott’s Veto of THC Ban"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why does Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick hate weed so much, when there\u2019s a fentanyl crisis and alcohol is linked to more deaths and health problems? <\/p>\n

That was the topic of discussion Monday morning at Vape City smoke shop in West Houston. The retailer is one of thousands that sell, among other things, hemp-derived THC products that came close to being banned statewide until Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed the controversial Senate Bill 3<\/a> minutes before the midnight deadline Sunday. <\/p>\n

Patrick, who has pushed for a THC ban for years, says the products are unregulated and potentially harmful to children. Opponents say a ban would obliterate Texas\u2019 $8 billion hemp industry, wipe out 50,000 jobs, and force thousands of small businesses to shutter, moving those dollars into the hands of medical marijuana companies that lobbied<\/a> heavily for the ban. <\/p>\n

A cashier at Vape City, who asked not to use her real name, said hemp-based products are their top sellers. They\u2019re primarily purchased by people over 40 years old who are going through chemotherapy or chronic pain, the cashier said. Some use gummy hemp products to help them sleep or ease anxiety, she said. A THC ban would not affect Texas\u2019 Compassionate Use Program<\/a>, which allows the sale of low-level THC products for medical purposes. <\/p>\n

As for regulation, Houston smoke shops rigorously check ID but they don\u2019t limit the amount of THC products being purchased, the Vape City cashier said. <\/p>\n

click to enlarge <\/a><\/p>\n

Customers at Houston’s Vape City, a 24-hour smoke shop, were excited Monday about Governor Abbott’s veto of Senate Bill 3.<\/p>\n

Photo by April Towery <\/p>\n

\n If the THC ban is really about regulation and not lining the pockets of the medical marijuana lobby, Patrick will have a chance to plead his case when the Texas Legislature returns for a month-long special session on July 21. <\/p>\n

THC users at Vape City said their assessment of Patrick\u2019s hatred for weed came from the lieutenant governor’s aggressive push for the ban. <\/p>\n

“It just seems like he’s going really hard after marijuana when there are other things, like alcohol, that cause more deaths,” one customer said. “If they ban Delta-8 [THC] products, that will force some people into an opioid addiction, which is a much bigger deal than hemp.” <\/p>\n

Patrick expressed his disappointment Monday in an Austin press conference.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Abbott\u2019s] late-night veto, on an issue supported by 105 of 108 Republicans in the legislature, strongly backed by law enforcement, many in the medical and education communities and the families who have seen their loved ones\u2019 lives destroyed by these very dangerous drugs, leaves them feeling abandoned,\u201d Patrick wrote on social media. <\/p>\n

\u201cI feel especially bad for those who testified and poured their hearts out on their tragic losses,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

Some of the regulations proposed in Governor Abbott’s veto include mandating childproof packaging and limiting the distance between a smoke shop and schools, churches, or playgrounds. Additionally, a regulatory law could mandate tracking of permitting and registration for THC producers and monitoring enforcement of whatever law ends up on the books. <\/p>\n

Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston, said he was up late Sunday night refreshing the Texas Legislature Online<\/a> webpage to see if Abbott would veto the bill. If the governor had taken no action by the deadline, it would have become law by default. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was surprised he vetoed it,\u201d Rottinghaus said. \u201cThe veto message implied that he thought that the litigation on the battle to implement SB 3 would be so long that it might hinder efforts to try to make the product safer and regulatorily sound. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think the other thing is the business side. We\u2019ve seen Republicans gravitate away from the business side of the Republican Party in the last few years. This implies that those groups are still influential within Republican circles.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n Rottinghaus added that he suspects the decision was \u201ca bit agonizing\u201d for the governor because he had to go against Patrick after a session where they\u2019d had a lot of mutual success. <\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, business interests prevailed and the cost of litigation in terms of money and time was something that was obviously on [Abbott\u2019s] mind,\u201d Rottinghaus said. <\/p>\n

THC regulation is one of six \u201cinitial items\u201d on Abbott\u2019s special session agenda. Redistricting is not on the list yet, but the governor is under pressure from Donald Trump to redraw geographical boundaries and can still add it. <\/p>\n

For now, the items up for discussion when the legislature reconvenes include six bills Abbott vetoed and wants to refine: <\/p>\n