Todd Harris was mentally preparing to move out of the state and spend the next few years buried in debt as he waited for Gov. Greg Abbott to take action on Senate Bill 3.
If signed into law, SB 3 would have banned all consumable hemp products containing THC in Texas, shutting down thousands of cannabis shops, including Harris’ own business, Happy Cactus.
In the final hour before his deadline, Abbott vetoed the bill.
“We were almost crying all day out of sadness and anxiety, and then it turned into joyful tears,” Harris said.
Over the weekend at Sweet Sensi, a cannabis shop on Congress Avenue, lines stretched from the front counter to the back of the bar, CEO Greg Autry said.
One customer placed an online order for $5,000 worth of merchandise, Autry said, despite the fact that the bill wouldn't go into effect for a few months if the governor signed it.
“We did our best to communicate on social media that it was Sept. 1,” he said. “But a lot of it was support, too. They know we are the good guys. They were worried about us.”
Draven Shean, the owner of THC Dispensary and Lounge, said his phone has been flooded since Sunday night with congratulatory texts and phone calls.
Now, cannabis shop owners are bracing for the special legislative session Abbott announced for July 21, where lawmakers are expected to enact regulations for THC products.
“We haven't won,” Shean said. “We won a battle in this metaphorical war against our industry, but now we're in a strange spot.”
In a letter explaining why he vetoed SB 3, Abbott suggested Texas could require age restrictions, THC milligram caps and child-proof packaging. Lawmakers could also bar cannabis shops from selling products that mimic popular candies and snacks, like THC-laced Nerds gummy clusters and Cheetos.
Many shop owners say they're in favor of these regulations.
Shean said he's tired of his type of business being vilified by state legislators.
“ We're not the cartel, we're not criminals, we're not drug dealers,” he said. “We are mothers and fathers, we are business owners, we're employees. We’re normal people. We’re Texans.”
Harris said he thinks all the products on Happy Cactus’ shelves would meet new requirements. And even though the saga over a potential THC ban was stressful for his business, he said, he sees a silver lining.
“We’ve been wondering how to get the word out that we do carry federally legal products that are the same as what you get in Colorado or California,” Harris said. “But Dan Patrick pretty much did that for us.”
