New Texas regulations that recently went into effect limiting THC in hemp products are forcing some El Paso smoke shops to pull most of their inventory, threatening businesses that have operated for years under looser rules.
David Ramirez, owner of Cannabis World and member of the Texas Hemp Business Council, said he supports tighter oversight — including restrictions on selling to minors.
But now he’s worried the new regulations imposed by the state starting March 31 could hobble his business.
“Unfortunately, it destroys about 90% of our business,” Ramirez said.
Ramirez’s shop has been open six years but now many of its products are banned because they contain too much tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana.
The new state regulations limit THC to 0.3% in consumable hemp products and prohibit the sale of the flower, or the raw bud form of the plant — two changes that retailers say eliminate many of their most popular items. In New Mexico, where recreational marijuana is legal, products often contain 27% THC.
“I’ve seen probably, in El Paso alone, I’ve seen like 10, 20 different businesses, unfortunately, close,” Ramirez said.
Recreational marijuana is still illegal in Texas, but within the past eight years, more than 9,100 hemp shops have registered with the state, employing more than 53,000 workers.
Some Texas lawmakers have spent years trying to regulate the explosion of hemp shops that have operated under a legal loophole for low-THC products, with those who backed restrictions arguing intoxicating hemp products were getting into the hands of children.
“Texas will not wait when it comes to protecting children and families,” Gov. Greg Abbott said in a September news release after he issued an executive order directing state agencies to tighten hemp regulations. “My executive order makes sure that kids are kept safe and parents have peace of mind now, and that consumers know the products they purchase are tested and labeled responsibly.”
Aside from banning the sale of intoxicating smokable hemp products such as flower and pre-rolls, the new regulations from the Texas Department of State Health Services impose stricter packaging, labeling, testing and recordkeeping standards on consumable hemp-derived THC products, raise licensing fees and set the purchase age at 21.
State Sen. Cesar Blanco, D-El Paso, said he was for some regulation of hemp products, but believes, “shutting everything down isn’t the answer either.”
He opposed the products being unregulated and sold to minors, and how THC products were “being sold like candy or drinks, ending up in the hands of kids,” he said, adding families were “right to be concerned.”
“At the end of the day, this comes down to balance,” Blanco said. “We have a responsibility to protect kids while making sure people who need relief aren’t left behind.”
Among the new regulations are a stiff increase in licensing fees for shops – jumping from $150 to $5,000 annually.
Jose Mendoza, owner of Buena Vida Wellness, said the new regulations will make doing business in Texas practically impossible. He previously sold a range of products including drinks, edibles, oils and gummies. While some of those products can be sold in Texas, most now exceed the state’s THC limits.
“You know, I have to pay a mortgage, I have to pay bills. I have to pay a long-term debt. It’s just been hard,” Mendoza said.
He closed his storefront at the Shoppes at Solana. Now he said he will probably move his operation to New Mexico.
“I’m not giving up,” Mendoza said.
Industry representatives say the new state regulations could not only cause economic disaster for many shops, but could also impact customers who use the products for stress, nausea, PTSD and pain management or as sleeping aids.
Ron Zlomke, an El Paso military veteran, said he doesn’t use hemp products but knows many fellow veterans who do to help them with PTSD and pain relief.
“It’s going to affect them quite a bit,” he said.
While he wanted to see hemp products regulated so that users can know what’s in the product, the new restrictions may put retailers out of business and push users to New Mexico, he said.
“People are just gonna jump across the border and buy it and bring it back. So we’re taking our business into New Mexico instead of keeping it right here in our great city of El Paso and the state of Texas,” Zlomke said.
Mitch Fuller, the national and state legislative chairman of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, said veterans will be losing access to affordable products that help them.
“We defended the freedom and liberty of this country, and we fought for freedom on foreign soil. So it’s ridiculous to think that we’re not going to have the freedom to choose what to put in our own bodies responsibly,” Fuller said.
Texas leaders should respect personal freedoms, he said, adding. “Don’t take this away from us.”
Ramirez said his shop Cannabis World will not be closing, but he worries about downsizing. He said he has worked hard to “do things the right way,” and serve his adult customers, who he said includes military, construction workers, nurses, EMTs, “a little bit of everything.”
“You know, it’s people just trying to relax,” Ramirez said.
Now he said Cannabis World will take steps to abide by all regulations, but “it’s just a little bit of nerve racking overall.”
He said he hopes the state will ease up on some of the regulations and give shops some room to operate.
“Something more reasonable where everybody’s safe, not just kids, right? Consumers are safe, but at the same time, we’re able to do business,” Ramirez said.
Michelle James Thorpe, a senior journalism student at the University of Texas at Austin, is a contributing writer for El Paso Matters as part of a capstone course this semester.
The post ‘Just trying to relax’: New Texas hemp rules could shutter El Paso shops, owners say appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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