Texas Hemp Industry Fights Back: Inside the Legal Battle Over THC-A Flower
A legal showdown years in the making officially landed in a Texas courtroom this week, as a coalition of hemp businesses filed suit against the state to block sweeping new regulations that effectively shut down the smokeable hemp market. The fight gets at a deceptively simple question with enormous consequences: what exactly is “hemp” — and who gets to define it?
Texas hemp businesses are asking a Travis County judge to block new state rules that took effect March 31, arguing the regulations adopted by the state effectively wiped out a huge part of the legal cannabis market.https://t.co/RWQU1KgArh pic.twitter.com/uSot2wKLmH
— KUT Austin (@KUT) April 8, 2026
How It Started: The 2019 Loophole
Even though Texas law bans marijuana, lawmakers legalized hemp in 2019, defining it as cannabis containing less than 0.3% Delta-9 THC by dry weight. That single number — 0.3% Delta-9 — became the foundation of a booming industry, and eventually, a legal gray zone that the state has been trying to close ever since.
To get around those Delta-9 restrictions, manufacturers started cultivating hemp plants with another type of THC called THC-A, which converts to Delta-9 when ignited in a joint or smokeable product and can produce a high. Many lawmakers have said this legal loophole effectively allowed a recreational THC market to appear overnight without direct approval from the state.
The strategy worked. The Texas market grew to roughly $4 billion in retail sales annually, with smokeable flower accounting for about half the market and smokeable products overall — including vapes — making up around two-thirds of sales.
A Long Road of Regulatory Battles
The current confrontation didn’t appear out of nowhere. The hemp industry’s battle to stay alive in Texas started back in 2021, when the state health agency classified any amount of Delta-8 THC as illegal, prompting a lawsuit that the Texas Supreme Court was expected to take up.
The legislative attempts to rein in the industry escalated from there. Lawmakers adopted stricter hemp regulations in 2025, but Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed the bill. The Legislature then held two special sessions but reached a stalemate on whether to regulate THC products more strictly or ban them entirely. After that deadlock, Abbott asked the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and the Department of State Health Services to increase regulations on the industry instead.
The New Rules and What They Mean
The Texas Department of State Health Services released its new regulations on consumable hemp-derived THC products, which went into effect on March 31. These include child-resistant packaging, new labeling, testing, and bookkeeping requirements, along with codifying the legal purchasing age at 21.
The most controversial change involves how THC is measured. DSHS’s new rules introduced a “total THC” calculation that counts THC-A as 88% Delta-9. Under that formula, more than 9,000 businesses registered with DSHS to sell smokeable hemp products can no longer legally do so.
The fee hikes are equally dramatic. Annual licensing costs for retailers have risen by over 3,000%, with vendors now paying $5,000 annually per location, up from $150. Manufacturers must pay $10,000 per year, up from $250. Industry leaders argue those figures aren’t regulation — they’re elimination by another name.
The Lawsuit
The lawsuit was filed by the Texas Hemp Business Council and the Hemp Industry and Farmers of America, along with eight hemp companies from across the state. The defendants named include DSHS Commissioner Jennifer Shuford, HHSC leader Stephanie Muth, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
THBC has filed a lawsuit to challenge rules that threaten compliant businesses and overstep legal authority.
— Texas Hemp Business Council (@TexasHempBiz) April 8, 2026
These rules don’t just tighten regulation–they rewrite the law.
This is about more than hemp. It’s about accountability, fair regulation & protecting Texas business. pic.twitter.com/yxP9jNhTXO
The legal argument centers on a separation of powers claim. The lawsuit states that “an administrative agency may not substitute its own policy judgment for the outcome produced by the constitutional lawmaking process” and that “the Texas Constitution vests legislative power in the Legislature, not administrative agencies.” In other words, the industry contends that regulators are doing what the Legislature explicitly failed — or declined — to do.
The hemp business community has made clear it is not challenging rules related to age verification or consumer protections, saying it wholeheartedly supports those regulations as falling within the agency’s authority. The target is narrower: the THC calculation change and the fee increases.
What Comes Next
The plaintiffs are asking a judge to issue a temporary restraining order quickly that would pause enforcement of the most controversial parts of the new rules. If granted, it would buy the industry time to argue the broader case. This is a path they’ve navigated before — back in 2021, Hometown Hero was granted an injunction that blocked the state from classifying Delta-8 as a Schedule 1 drug.
An important update regarding our lawsuit. pic.twitter.com/8zrXQEM02y
— Hometown Hero ATX (@HometownHeroATX) April 3, 2026
Even if the industry wins a temporary pause, the underlying battle is far from settled. Legal challenges to the state’s new hemp regulations are likely to play out in court for years. Meanwhile, experts predict Texans will find workarounds, including smoking “semi-synthetic” or “converted” cannabis products sprayed with chemicals to mimic marijuana’s high — and that edibles and beverages will attempt to fill the gap.
The state’s concern is real: data from the Texas Poison Center Network confirms a sharp increase in cannabis-related poisoning calls from 923 in 2019 to 2,669 last year, with the majority involving children under five and teenagers. But drug policy experts caution that raw numbers alone don’t tell the whole story.
At its core, this is a fight about who holds the pen when it comes to drawing the line between hemp and marijuana in Texas — and that question isn’t going away anytime soon.
SOURCES:
- Texas Public Radio (TPR)
- The Texas Tribune
- KUT Radio (Austin’s NPR Station)
- FOX 7 Austin
- San Antonio Current
- KSAT News
- Texas State Law Library
- Denton Record-Chronicle
- Insurance Journal
Austin City Council meets today for its Regular Meeting.
Morning Proclamations (9:00 AM) Child Abuse Prevention Month, a Distinguished Service Award for First Responders from the Sixth Street Mass Shooting, Undergraduate Research Forum Day 25th Anniversary, Austin Housing Coalition Day, and Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
Consent Agenda (routine items voted on together)
- Approval of March 12 meeting minutes
- A legal settlement involving the City of Austin
- Ordinances suspending gas rate adjustments from Atmos Energy and Texas Gas Service
- Numerous contracts for Austin Energy (vegetation management, network equipment, transformer parts, construction)
- Water/wastewater infrastructure projects across multiple districts
- Fleet services contracts (refuse trucks, lawn equipment, traffic cones)
- Real estate matters including a Mexic-Arte Museum temporary relocation to the Austin History Center and a ~49-acre parks land acquisition for ~$13.4M near Old San Antonio Road
- Public health items including food bank funding, HIV epidemic grants, and an STD intervention contract
- Transportation grants from TxDOT totaling ~$13M for traffic monitoring and signal upgrades
- An emergency water service agreement with the City of Round Rock
- Fee waivers for community events including Austin Roundup 2026 and a Missions 5K
Non-Consent / Public Hearings
- Eminent domain for a public safety communications tower
- Austin Housing Finance Corporation meeting (10:30 AM)
- Expansion of the Downtown Public Improvement District
- Two disannexation ordinances in District 10
- Multiple zoning/rezoning cases, mainly in Districts 3 and 9, including the Christ Church Planning project, Vargas Mixed Use development, Saxon Acres multifamily rezoning, West Lynn Church Site, 1000 Red River, East Avenue PUD amendment, and a liquor-sales rezoning at 1811 East Cesar Chavez (with a valid opposition petition filed)
Public Communication (12:00 PM) covers topics including mental health funding, hostile architecture, green spaces, gun licensing, and ash juniper protection.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson says the city is exploring new options to find money to help preserve programs run by the SAFE Alliance.
Yesterday, city leaders heard from the company that plans to transform 6th Street.
At the tourism commission today they gave an update on the rebrand of Dirty 6th
— ATX data (@data_atx) April 9, 2026
We are now calling it 'Old 6th'
Stream Realty, which owns 20+ 6th street buildings is doing a major investment to update the area. It will preserve and restore the historic buildings. pic.twitter.com/YOdZ5CF6CG
Austin’s firefighters’ union will hold a press conference today downtown at the Barbara Jordan State Office Building to highlight the Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation contested case hearing over Lt. Suzanne LaFollette’s denied workers’ compensation claim for occupational cancer.
This incident reported took place at the Nova North Apartments. Police found a man who had been shot, who died at the scene.
This case would mark Austin’s 19th homicide of 2026.
A Travis County judge has ruled that the man accused of killing a Caldwell County deputy will stay behind bars without bond.
Prosecutors said 38-year-old Thomas Vences shot and killed Deputy Constable Aaron Armstrong outside an Austin nightclub back in January.
Armstrong was working off-duty security at Club Rodeo on North Lamar when he was killed.
Austin’s police union supported the ruling:
The murder trial against accused fentanyl dealer Kreli Haynes continued Wednesday in Williamson County.
Llano County prosecutors have dismissed the first-degree murder charge against Jimmy Don Wolfenbarger, the man accused of killing Holly Marie Simmons in 2006 by strangulation. District Attorney Perry Thomas said the case was being dropped “in the interest of justice” because it was undergoing further investigation and more evidence was needed. (KXAN-TV)
Austin police have provided more information about a fatal car accident Saturday night on the ramp from North IH 35 Southbound to US 290 Eastbound.
Austin ISD staff, students and their families are nervous for what’s to come amid projected the district’s $181 million budget shortfall.
Some Austinites are out of a job as tech companies restructure to focus on artificial intelligence.
Texas drivers now have a chance to say how they really feel about Interstate 35.
Pflugerville officials say they hope to lift Stage 3 water restrictions sometime next month.
“Based on current average daily water use, we project that it will be closer to May 7 before the lake reaches an elevation of 633 feet. However, if water demand is reduced and is consistently at or below 4 MGD for the next three weeks, and there are no further construction issues with the existing raw waterline, the lake will likely reach and maintain a 633-foot elevation by May 1. As the chart shows, daily water demand has been below 4 MGD only five times over the last three weeks. Please do all you can to conserve!” — City of Pflugerville
The Stage 3 water restrictions have been in place since March 4.
Despite the recent rains, Austin Water encourages Austinites to continue conserving as we head into hotter months.
The Austin-Travis County Wildfire Coalition is updating the Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP), a roadmap to reduce wildfire risk, protect lives and property, and strengthen community resilience.
A public meeting was held last night and another is scheduled for tonight.
Two brush fires broke out Wednesday in Gillespie County.
GOOD NEWS: The Texas A&M Forest Service reports no significant wildfires are active in the state.
WEATHER
WEDNESDAY’S HIGH / LOW TEMPERATURES
AUSTIN-BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
CAMP MABRY
5-DAY FORECAST / AUSTIN, TEXAS
Meteorologist Nick Bannin shares a review of severe weather season so far, how it compares to previous starts and a look ahead.
It’s been just over a year since President Donald Trump issued an executive order imposing steep tariffs on most of the United States’ major trading partners.
Small business owners both in Texas and across the country say they’re suffering. (Texas Standard)
Texas accounted for nearly half of all U.S. oil production last year, even as the number of new wells drilled in the state fell in 2025. Analysts and industry groups attribute this to Texas’s favorable geology, its extensive pipeline and transportation infrastructure, and increasingly efficient multi-site operations. That steady output from West Texas has helped stabilize U.S. supply at a time when global markets have tightened amid the conflict with Iran, experts say. (Texas Tribune)
Texas will lose out on $3.2 billion in sales tax revenue over the next two years thanks to an exemption for the state’s booming data center industry, according to the comptroller’s office. (Houston Chronicle)
Zydeco Development is a commercial real estate development firm based in Austin and seeks to build a data center in Hutto. To move forward, the city of Hutto must approve a zoning change for the property. Nearby residents oppose the center.
A group of Texas House members will meet on Friday as Republicans try to figure out how far they will go to collect fines levied on the dozens of Democrats who broke quorum last summer to fight redistricting. (San Antonio Express-News)
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Wednesday said Texas Republicans are “going to have a tough time” holding onto their majority in the state House this fall, the latest and perhaps most notable sign yet of GOP unease about the midterm elections.
Republican House Speaker Dustin Burrows responded:
To prevent a repeat of the messy primary voting processes seen in Williamson and Dallas counties, an Austin lawmaker says state law needs to change.
After viral allegations spotlighted fraud, Gov. Abbott ordered investigations as lawmakers consider tougher oversight of Medicaid and child care programs.
Several state agencies face new legal action from more than a dozen youth camps across Texas who say one of the new rules the state enacted after the tragedy at Camp Mystic is impossible to follow: one that requires them to have fiber internet access at camps. They argue that kind of internet access simply isn’t available in remote or rural areas. (KVUE-TV)
New data out from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University finds that very few immigrants faced deportation hearings based on alleged criminal activity.
In February 2026, the Department of Homeland Security sought the basis of removal for 741 individuals based on what the agency said was alleged criminal activity. (Texas Public Radio)
Houston City Council just passed an ordinance limiting when HPD can contact ICE. Chicago, Denver, New York, and Long Beach have done the same thing.
The leader of the Republican National Committee knows he will have to defy history to defend President Donald Trump in Texas and beyond as Democrats vow to retake control of the U.S. House. In an exclusive interview with Texas Take host Jeremy Wallace, RNC chair Joe Gruters said he knows almost every president over the 150 years has lost seats in Congress during midterm elections. But the GOP has to overcome the odds in order to save Trump from an endless stream of investigations and impeachment hearings during his final two years in office. “We have no other option. We have to win,” Gruters said. A big part of that mission is Texas. With the GOP national convention scheduled for Houston in 2028 and a potential midterm convention in Dallas this year, Gruters has been in Texas a lot, preparing to fight Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico and other threats to Trump’s legacy up and down the ballot in the Lone Star State.
(Episode from April 7, 2026)
The Toyota Center in Houston, which is home to the NBA’s Houston Rockets as well as a relocating WNBA franchise, is being “reimagined” with $180 million in renovations. Plans for upgrading the downtown arena, announced Wednesday by the basketball teams’ ownership, include a new atrium, premium hospitality spaces, renovated suites and “fan-first” innovations. (Houston Public Media)
A Texas death row inmate is now just weeks away from execution – even after another man came forward claiming he was the actual killer.
The FBI is now offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a Texas man wanted for his alleged involvement in a triple murder in Garland in 2021.
A giraffe has arrived at the San Antonio Zoo from the Tulsa Zoo.
SPORTS
MLB: The Texas Rangers sweep. The Houston Astros got swept.
MacKenzie Gore allowed one hit in five innings, Brandon Nimmo and Josh Smith had two hits each and the Texas Rangers shut out the Seattle Mariners 3-0 on Wednesday. Texas scored all three runs in the fifth inning to complete a three-game series sweep. (Associated Press)
Hunter Goodman homered, Michael Lorenzen bounced back from a rough home opener by throwing efficiently into the sixth and the Colorado Rockies beat the Houston Astros 9-1 on Wednesday to complete a three-game sweep.
Houston started the season 5-2 but have since lost five of their last six games. (Associated Press)
SCHEDULE: Both the Rangers and Astros are off today.
NBA: The San Antonio Spurs notched their 61st victory of the season last night.
De’Aaron Fox had 25 points and the San Antonio Spurs kept rolling even with Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle sidelined by injuries, defeating the Portland Trail Blazers 112-101 on Wednesday night.
San Antonio (61-19) is 28-3 since February 1 and has its best record since 2017, its last appearance in the Western Conference finals during a 22-year postseason run that included five NBA championships. (Associated Press)
Devin Booker scored 37 points, Dillon Brooks added 28 and the Phoenix Suns edged the short-handed Dallas Mavericks 112-107 on Wednesday. (Assciated Peess)
ON THE SCHEDULE
Dallas and San Antonio are off tonight. The Houston Rockets host Philadelphia.
NHL: It’s a regular season game but it will have a postseason feel tonight as the Dallas Stars host Minnesota. The two teams are already slated to meet in the opening round of the NHL Playoffs.
On this special episode of Texas Parks & Wildlife, we take a trip down the Brazos River. Join two friends as they enjoy a fishing trip on the John Graves Scenic Riverway. Along the way, meet the folks working hard to protect the Brazos headwaters from invasive plants and threats to endangered fish. Also, see how Striped Bass are produced at the Possum Kingdom Fish Hatchery. See how folks are giving back to the river they love by picking up trash during the annual Brazos river cleanup project.
