Dan Patrick Aims for Statewide Ban on All THC Products

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s Latest Crusade: A Statewide Ban on All THC Products

AUSTIN, Texas — Let’s talk about Texas, shall we? The land of wide-open spaces and even wider gaps in logic when it comes to cannabis. This week, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick announced he’s pushing a legislative initiative to ban all THC in Texas. Yes, all THC. Because apparently, nothing says ‘public servant’ like deciding the citizens of your state are too irresponsible to handle a plant—while also ignoring the will of over 60% of Texans who support legalization.

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Dan Patrick is throwing his weight behind Senate Bill 3, which aims to outlaw every form of psychoactive THC. This crusade comes in response to the 2019 law that allowed for hemp products containing less than 0.3% delta-9 THC. That law was a reasonable attempt to distinguish hemp from cannabis, but according to Dan, retailers have turned it into a loophole big enough to drive a combine harvester through.

Patrick is especially miffed about delta-8 THC, a hemp-derived cannabinoid that’s gained popularity in Texas. It’s legal under federal law and just as psychoactive as the delta-9 THC in cannabis—but less safe due to a lack of regulation. The irony is glaring: they legalized hemp-derived delta-8 while keeping cannabis illegal, proving how misguided their priorities are. If this were really about public safety, why allow Texans to legally buy an inferior cannabis product that could potentially be full of harmful chemicals, instead of embracing the safety that full legalization would bring? According to Patrick, stores selling delta-8 and similar products are “targeting Texas children” and exposing them to “life-threatening” amounts of THC. Life-threatening? Really? Unless kids are out here eating THC by the pound—which, spoiler, they’re not—it’s hard to see the threat, especially considering there have been exactly zero cannabis-related deaths reported in the ten thousand plus of years humans have been using it.

Oh, but Dan’s not alone in his Reefer Madness revival tour. Let’s not forget his prohibitionist brother-in-arms, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who’s been busy suing cities across the state for daring to decriminalize cannabis. Paxton and Patrick seem to be in a competition to see who can be the most out of touch with reality—or at least with their constituents. While Ken wastes taxpayer dollars fighting cities that want to stop arresting people for a plant, Dan is doing his best to turn the clock back to the 1950s.

Patrick’s talking points sound like they were ripped straight from a 1980s D.A.R.E. pamphlet. He claims these hemp products are more dangerous than the cannabis you’d find from “a drug dealer,” with some beverages supposedly containing “three to four times the THC content” of street cannabis. First of all, Dan, you seem oddly familiar with the inventory of drug dealers. Second, there’s this little thing called lab testing. If you’re so worried about unregulated products, why not embrace legalization and regulate the market?

It gets better—or worse, depending on how much faith you have left in Texas politics. Patrick is confident his bill will have “broad bipartisan support” in the Senate and is already urging the House to follow suit. But here’s the thing: Texas lawmakers have tried—and failed—to ban delta-8 THC before. House Bill 2593 and House Bill 3948 both fizzled out in previous legislative sessions. Even the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) seemed confused about delta-8’s legal status, at one point claiming it was already a Schedule 1 drug.

The truth is, Dan Patrick and Ken Paxton are trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist. Texans aren’t clamoring for more prohibition; they’re calling for more freedom. Polls show a majority of Texans support legalizing cannabis outright, and cities across the state have taken steps to decriminalize it. Meanwhile, these two are trying to put the toothpaste back into the tube by doubling down on policies that belong in the last century.

It’s ironic, isn’t it? Texas prides itself on being a state of rugged individualism and personal responsibility. Yet when it comes to cannabis, the folks in charge think you can’t be trusted to make your own decisions. So while Dan Patrick and Ken Paxton fight to keep Texans in the dark ages of cannabis policy, the rest of the country moves forward. At some point, you have to wonder: who exactly are they trying to protect? Texans—or their own political careers?