Federal judge won't pause Texas ban on delta-8, THCA flower and other hemp THC
A Galveston federal judge denied an emergency order to stop Texas's new hemp THC rules. Low-dose delta-9 stays legal; delta-8, delta-10, THCP and THCA flower don't.
Texas hemp sellers lost the first round. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown in Galveston turned down an emergency request from two hemp retailers and a distributor to temporarily block the state's new hemp THC rules, ruling they hadn't shown the kind of irreparable harm a restraining order requires.
The rules took effect at the end of July, after a May Texas Supreme Court decision ended a 2021 injunction and let the Department of State Health Services treat most hemp-derived THC as a Schedule I drug. That covers delta-8, delta-10, THCP and THCA flower. Delta-9 products under 0.3% THC by dry weight are still legal, and delta-9 is the biggest seller in Texas anyway.
The plaintiffs argue the 2018 federal Farm Bill preempts the state's rules and that they unconstitutionally burden interstate commerce. Their request for a preliminary injunction, which allows fuller briefing and an evidentiary hearing, is still pending. Cannabis experts told the Tribune that possessing banned products can be charged as a state jail felony, with up to two years and a $10,000 fine.
Why it matters: Texas is already enforcing its own crackdown on most hemp THC, months before the federal ban is set to land.
