Governor Abbott’s veto message made clear that prohibition is not the answer.
By Mark Bordas
As the debate intensifies in the Texas Capitol, a dangerous and misleading narrative is taking root, that the state’s narrowly tailored medical marijuana program (TCUP) can somehow serve as a full replacement for the thriving, diverse, and federally legal market of hemp-derived THC products. This is not only false, it is a shameful manufactured choice that threatens to strip thousands of Texans of access to safe, affordable, and constitutionally protected alternatives.
Hemp and Marijuana Are Not Substitutes — Legally, Chemically, or Practically
At the heart of the issue lies a fundamental misunderstanding or a willful misrepresentation by Texas Original and their Senate allies of the true distinction between hemp-derived cannabinoids and marijuana. Hemp-derived THC products, including delta-8, and others, are legal under the 2018 federal Farm Bill and regulated in Texas under state law. They are widely available, non-prescription, and increasingly tailored to adult individual needs from sleep and anxiety relief to appetite stimulation and pain management.Marijuana under TCUP, by contrast, remains a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law. Access is limited to patients with qualifying conditions, requires physician approval, and is tightly restricted in dosage and distribution. The idea that this program, even after recent legislative improvements can somehow absorb the needs of the millions of Texans who rely on hemp-derived products is a fiction being pushed by monopolistic interests for their own gain.
Access, Affordability, and Civil Liberties Are at Stake
Replacing hemp with marijuana under a state monopoly would impose significant burdens on consumers:
- Access: TCUP serves just over 100,000 patients. Hemp products, by contrast, are available through 8,500 retailers and accessed by millions of Texans without bureaucratic red tape or invasive medical gatekeeping.
- Affordability: TCUP products remain significantly more expensive than their hemp-derived counterparts, a fact that hits hardest for low-income patients, veterans, and those on fixed incomes.
- Civil liberties: Purchasing marijuana under TCUP requires enrollment in a government registry, threatens Second Amendment rights, and can expose consumers to employment consequences due to failed drug tests — consequences that do not apply to legal hemp products.
A Solution in Search of a CrisisThere is no legitimate policy reason to ban hemp-derived cannabinoids simply because TCUP exists. The push to eliminate hemp is not about consumer safety or medical efficacy , it is about economic consolidation. Texas Original and its allies want to erase their only real competition under the guise of public health, while ignoring the diverse reasons Texans choose hemp over marijuana, namely lower dosages, less intoxicating effects, lower cost, privacy, and ease of access.
The Real Question Isn’t Whether TCUP Can Replace Hemp — It’s Why Should It?
Rather than conflate hemp with marijuana, Texas should preserve consumer choice by regulating hemp responsibly with age restrictions, packaging rules, labeling requirements, and testing standards that mirror those used for food and supplements.
Governor Abbott’s veto message made clear that prohibition is not the answer. The path forward isn’t to force Texans into a one-size-fits-all model that works for a monopoly and no one else. Good public policy needs to treat adults like adults, and regulate hemp as the legal product it is, similar to alcohol and tobacco.
Texans deserve options, not selfish economic ultimatums.
In the end, this isn’t a debate about legal hemp versus marijuana, a Schedule 1 Drug. It's more of a debate about freedom versus control.
Texans should not be forced into a false choice dictated by monopolies and political insiders. Texans deserve access to safe, affordable, and legal alternatives without surrendering their privacy, rights, or paychecks.
A responsible regulatory framework for hemp protects public safety while preserving personal liberty and economic opportunity, the guidance of which has been spelled out in Governor Abbott’s veto proclamation.
Anything less is not only bad policy, it is a betrayal of the very values Texas was built on.
Mark Bordas serves as the Executive Director of the Texas Hemp Business Council, a nonprofit trade association focused on advancing and protecting hemp-derived products in the Lone Star state.
