Texas Hemp Regulation's Turning Point: From Panic to Partnership

The Quiet Majority Has Spoken, Now It’s Time to Act Like It

Texans are not confused about hemp. They’re tired of chaos. Poll after poll shows most voters, Democrats, Republicans, rural, suburban, and urban alike, support legal hemp and cannabis when framed around order, safety, and responsibility. They don’t want bans; they want boundaries.

CRAFT founders: CEO Rhiannon Yard and Chief Strategist Jay Maguire meeting for the first time at the Texas Cannabis Policy Conference in 2024

Yet for three sessions, a loud minority has controlled the narrative through fear. They talk about “protecting kids,” while ignoring that regulation, not prohibition, is what protects them. That’s the paradox of Texas hemp politics: the prohibitionists have passion, the reformers have numbers, but numbers don’t matter if they’re quiet.

This week’s Texas Alcoholic Beverage

Commission stakeholder meeting is our chance to flip the script.

The TABC Rules: A Baseline, Not a Ceiling

Governor Abbott’s Executive Order GA-56 set a clear standard: no sales of consumable hemp products to anyone under 21, and mandatory ID verification for all transactions. Simple. Clear. Enforceable.

But clarity without capability is a setup for failure. That’s why CRAFT, the Cannabis Retailers Alliance for Texas, proposes something beyond compliance: a model for verified, auditable self-regulation.

In our submission to TABC, we laid out a framework to make age verification and compliance training the industry standard. Every certified 21+ retailer will require proper ID inspection before sale, with employees trained and certified through CRAFT’s THC Handler Program to recognize valid IDs, spot fraud, and follow consistent refusal procedures. Each participating retailer will be subject to third-party audits and quarterly mystery shops, ensuring accountability and transparency.

This isn’t optional compliance theater, it’s an industry-driven framework to help responsible retailers meet and exceed state requirements.

Our message to TABC is simple: trust, but verify, and we’ll provide the structure to do it.

The Real Problem: Counterfeits, Chaos, and Criminals in Disguise

Let’s be honest about the elephant in the dispensary.

Texas’ hemp marketplace has been flooded with counterfeit, mislabeled, and untested “hemp” lookalikes masquerading as legitimate products. They’re made in unsanitary facilities, imported in bulk, and sold in corner stores with no quality controls, no lab reports, and no idea what’s actually inside.

We’ve seen unverified products test positive for dangerous synthetic compounds or misleading potency claims. We’ve seen gas station “vapes” with no QR codes or fake Certificates of Analysis, just cheap packaging mimicking legitimate brands. Some products even copy reputable companies’ SKUs and COAs outright.

This isn’t the hemp industry. It’s the black market in disguise.

When parents, sheriffs, and senators see these products, they think “hemp.” And that fuels prohibition. Every unregulated fake product becomes another talking point for Dan Patrick and Charles Perry. Every child harmed by a bootleg “delta” cartridge becomes a soundbite on the evening news.

That’s why CRAFT’s certification and verification system matters. It draws a bright line between legitimate, accountable businesses and the bad actors pretending to be part of our sector.

If we don’t regulate ourselves, and fast, Texas will regulate us out of existence.

Regulation as Reassurance

Texans aren’t demanding bans, they’re demanding reassurance. They don’t oppose cannabinoids; they oppose confusion.

When asked whether the legislature should “ban hemp-THC to protect children,” a narrow majority agrees. When told it means shutting down small businesses and killing jobs, support collapses. The difference isn’t ideology, it’s trust.

CRAFT’s model builds that trust through certification, transparency, and training.

Proof that certified sellers follow verified ID protocols.Proof that every certified product includes a legitimate COA and chain-of-custody record, tested and traceable. Proof that when something goes wrong, it’s corrected, not covered up.

Texans respond to visible responsibility, not slogans. They want to see rules, oversight, and accountability.

The Political Battlefield: Intensity Over Ideology

Inside the Texas GOP, the divide is nearly even: 45% oppose bans, 35% support them, and the rest shrug. The prohibitionists may be smaller, but they’re louder and more disciplined. They show up. They dominate hearings. They frame the story.

Our side? We’re running businesses, paying taxes, and raising families, but if we don’t match that intensity, we’ll keep losing policy to panic.

The winning message isn’t “freedom” or “choice.” It’s safety, order, and discipline. CRAFT’s self-regulation model gives lawmakers something to point to, a system that actually works.

The Way Forward

If TABC adopts these rules and recognizes certification as a “best practice,” we can create a statewide framework that separates real hemp from counterfeits. Within 90 days, we’ll have hundreds of certified stores participating in a transparent compliance network that regulators can access at any time.

This will make Texas the national leader in responsible hemp governance, a market that doesn’t wait for Washington or Austin to tell it how to behave.

Because the truth is, Texas doesn’t need another ban, it needs proof that responsible operators can self-govern.

The Closing Argument

We’ve let the loudest voices define us for too long. It’s time to take back the narrative.

The prohibitionists claim chaos. We’ll show order.They claim danger. We’ll show safety.They claim lawlessness. We’ll show data.

The counterfeiters and impostors have had their run. Now it’s time for the professionals to lead.

Texas hemp can’t survive as a gray-market punchline. It must evolve into a certified, verified, and transparent industry. That’s what Texans expect, and that’s what will finally end the cycle of moral panic and legislative overreach.

We’re past the panic. Now comes the partnership.