A new Baselice & Associates poll found that a strong majority of Republican primary voters support a total ban on consumable THC products in Texas.
According to the recent survey, 62% of respondents said they would support legislation fully prohibiting THC consumables. In contrast, 63% oppose Governor Greg Abbott’s (R) earlier proposal to regulate, rather than ban, such products.
The results come as lawmakers debate Senate Bill 5 by state Senator Charles Perry (R) and a companion bill by state Rep. Gary VanDeaver (R), which would outlaw THC in consumable products.
SB 5 has cleared the Senate and is awaiting action in the House.
Testifying in support of the ban, Allen Police Chief Steve Dye, representing the Texas Police Chiefs Association (TPCA), warned legislators about the dangers of high-potency THC products.
“Validated research continues to be published, verifying the fact that these THC consumables are extremely harmful, particularly to our younger populations,” he warned.
Dye further noted that many citizens mistakenly believe today’s THC products are similar to marijuana from the 1970s, which had THC concentrations under 5%. In contrast, TPCA testing has found some items with over 80% THC, along with dangerous chemicals and metals.
“Very few people are purchasing THC products under .3 percent, that’s why the wholesalers and the retailers are profiting based on only selling intoxicating hemp for the most part,” he explained. “Under regulation, these businesses would continue to thrive, and it would create the largest THC recreational market in Texas that would exist in the United States.”
State law enforcement agencies maintain that effective regulation is impossible, asserting that attempts to control THC would result in legalizing the use of marijuana in the Lone Star state.
After Governor Abbott vetoed Senate Bill 3, a bill that would have imposed sweeping restrictions on hemp-derived products, Republicans like state Rep. Brian Harrison (R) came out in support of the decision, noting that the move would have resulted in "dangerous" repercussions.
the Texas Republican warned that “millions of Texans are gonna be… pushed into either a completely unregulated dangerous black market or to much more fatal and addictive pharmaceuticals.” “Why would we do such a thing?”
