The Texas House gave its initial approval to a complete ban on consumable hemp-based products containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main intoxicating chemical in marijuana. The vote came after a two-and-a-half-hour debate Wednesday night that started as an effort to regulate the products, rather than prohibit them.
The version of Senate Bill 3 that had emerged from a House committee was an extensive rewrite that aimed to regulate and tax THC-containing products instead of banning them outright. State Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian and chair of the House Committee on State Affairs, wrote the committee substitute following a lengthy hearing in which many people testifying argued, and in some cases begged, for a product they had come to rely on to treat their or their loved ones' health conditions to remain legal.
Introducing the bill on the House floor, King stressed that it had been designed to meet one of the major goals of the original Senate version: to keep such products out of the hands of children.
"This bill prohibits vape pens, but will allow the sale of tinctures, hemp flower, hemp beverages and other consumables," King said. "Importantly, Senate Bill 3 will prohibit these products from being marketed in likenesses to children's snacks such as Cheerios, Nerd Ropes, etc., and will be prohibited from being sold in stores that are not limited to 21-and-older customers."
Then, state Rep. Tom Oliverson, R-Cypress, upended the table with an amendment that restored the bill to its original form.
"As a physician, I cannot in good conscience support a system where Texans self-medicate with unregulated, inconsistent and highly potent intoxicants,” Oliverson said. “These substances are not medicine. They are psychosis-inducing, overdose-prone chemicals masquerading as relief. This substitute bans the sale of all consumable hemp products that contain THC. It draws a bright, enforceable line with no wiggle room."
State Reps. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, and Gene Wu, D-Houston, tried five times to force the bill to be withdrawn, using a parliamentary maneuver known as a point of order. They succeeded only in slowing down the debate.
Other Democrats tried to sway their Republican colleagues to vote against Oliverson's amendment and preserve King's version regulating hemp products containing THC.
"Members, if we learned anything from Prohibition, we know that bans don't work," said state Rep. Rafael Anchía, D-Dallas. "Everybody that I talked to on this issue — not on this floor, but out in communities — say, ‘Hey, we need to highly regulate it, we need to tax it, we need to police it, we need to enforce it, but the ban will not work.’ "
State Rep. Terri Leo Wilson, R-Galveston, then told the story of her own daughter's battle for survival after becoming addicted to THC and being diagnosed with Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome. She said the illness caused dramatic weight loss and ultimately triggered refeeding syndrome, a condition associated with malnourishment that can cause dangerous complications when the person begins to eat again. As Leo Wilson said, it is most notoriously associated with the images of survivors of Nazi concentration camps.
"Her bones were sticking out of her. She weighed 85 pounds. Her hair was falling out. We honestly did not know if she would live or not," Leo Wilson said. "THC is not just a little thing. I'm sure it will help many people. But we can expand the Compassionate Use Program. We can do many things like that where we know it helps people. But this is killing kids."
State Rep. Josey Garcia, D-San Antonio, a retired U.S. Air Force veteran, countered by talking about how much the veteran community she represented depended on access to legal THC products to treat a range of conditions tied to their service, such as post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic pain — including her Army veteran husband, who was shot and nearly killed while serving in Afghanistan.
"This month, while we were here arguing about things, my husband has had to deal with the 14th anniversary of him bleeding out on a mountaintop," Garcia said. "Eleven blood transfusions. Narcotics that you can't even pronounce. Darkness that none of you will ever understand. And while we sit here celebrating our patriotism ... I want you all to remember that my sole purpose is to be the messenger. My sole purpose is to be voice of those veterans and the people who aren't here to advocate for themselves because they lost the battle."
One of the last to speak against the amendment was King, who reiterated the argument many Democrats had made that a ban would be ineffective.
"I will be voting no on the amendment," King said, "and the reason is I read about the 1920s. I don't think Prohibition worked in 1920. It's not going to work in [the] 2020s."
The amendment won a majority vote, and in short order, the amended bill passed the House by a vote of 95-44. The aye votes included King.
The measure has one more reading in the House before it goes back to the Senate for final approval.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has been the leading voice for a total THC ban in the Senate, posted a message on social media moments after the House acted.
"I want to thank Speaker [Dustin Burrows], Rep. [Tom Oliverson], and House members for their support in passing SB3 by a vote of 95-44 on second reading to ban THC and protect Texas children and adults from this dangerous, highly-potent, uncontrolled substance, that is destroying lives and sold primarily within blocks of our schools," Patrick wrote.
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