Texas health officials have proposed sweeping changes to hemp regulations that would sharply raise licensing fees and tighten testing requirements, prompting warnings from industry members that the moves could drive small businesses out of the market.
The Texas Department of State Health Services late last month released proposed rules for consumable hemp products that include a minimum purchasing age of 21, stricter age verification and mandatory product recalls — measures the industry largely supports.
But advocates say two provisions could be devastating: new testing standards for THC levels and steep fee increases. Under the proposal, manufacturer licenses would jump from $250 to $25,000 per facility each year, while retail registrations would rise from $150 to $20,000 per location — increases of more than 13,000%.
Industry members said the proposed THC testing limits would effectively ban the use of hemp flower in products such as edibles and smokables because the plant naturally contains higher THC levels than the new threshold allows. They argue the change could instead open the door to more synthetically derived THC products.
Hemp distributors said the proposed licensing fees amount to a fundamental reshaping of who can afford to operate legally in Texas, favoring large, often out-of-state companies over small local businesses.
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