Although the 2019 Legislature Session didn’t accomplish much in terms of reforms for the plant’s more controversial botanical cousin, hemp had quite the monumental success in both the Legislature and in many executive offices, Commissioner Sid Miller being the best example. Texans across the political spectrum saw the unbiased and truly limitless uses for the crop and the rewards that all the commodities produced by industrial hemp could bring to a state whose economy is so heavily invested in agriculture.
House Bill 1325, which authorizes the regulated cultivation and use of industrial hemp and its associated products as well as the licenses needed to grow, passed out of committees without any opposition in both the House of Representatives and the Senate unanimously, even without an unwarranted outburst by Lt. Governor Boss Hogg. As the bill was approved out of both houses, HB 1325 legislatively travelled onto the desk of Governor Abbott. As Abbott has stated no previous discomfort with hemp legalization in Texas, he not too surprisingly signed the bill into law. That, and a bill to end the extortionist usage of red light cameras in Texas but that’s another equally as stress-relieving story.
As industrial hemp is a plant with a near endless quantity of uses and byproducts, the authorization of industrial hemp production with a Texas Department of Agriculture-certified license could prove to provide agricultural opportunities not obtainable previously. HB 1325 also gives further clarity on the legality of CBD. As CBD is purely a product of the now legalized hemp plant, then the non-psychoactive CBD therefore would be legal and no longer have to exist in such a strange and convoluted legal grey area depending on the feelings of your respective district attorney.
As an extra piece of positive news, farmers can rest easily knowing their Agriculture Commissioner will focus on a hands-off policy of regulating. 8th generation farmer and Commissioner Sid Miller, while still very opposed to recreational cannabis, stated that his department will enforce the federal regulations but few regulations at the state level. The 8th generation farmer turned politician also unfortunately asserted that any aspiring hemp farmers would have to wait until 2020 to apply for licenses to grow but also said that eventually, Texas will have ‘more hemp than the state could ever process.”
“The Texas Legislature got at least one thing right this session when they legalized hemp.” said Heather Fazio, Director of Texans for Responsible Marjuana Policy. “Finally, Texas farmers are no longer cut out of this lucrative agricultural market. Plus, Texans are now free to use CBD. There’s a lot to be excited about with this legislation.”
As Texas is almost prime location for agriculture, The Lone Star State now has the golden opportunity for a considerable percentage of the population to prosper due to hemp legalization, From the farmers that grow the plant to the companies that produce hemp paper to the everyday Average Joe who puts hemp hearts in their salad or oatmeal, the legal reformation of hemp will undoubtedly benefit large swaths of people and will lead to hemp-based products so popularly mass-produced that they overtake the sales of more traditional and not so environmentally friendly products.