Time to show your ID, I guess.
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission on Tuesday approved an emergency rule to ban liquor license holders from selling THC products to anyone under the age of 21, the agency’s first step toward fulfilling an executive order by Gov. Greg Abbott that called for stricter regulation of the products.
The emergency rule, which also requires retailers to verify IDs at the point of sale and only applies to those that also sell alcohol, takes effect as soon as it is posted to the Texas Register, expected later Tuesday. The agency does not intend to begin enforcement until Oct. 1 to give it enough time to relay the age limit to retailers. TABC license holders found to be violating the rule after Oct. 1 will have their license revoked, according to the rule.
The commission approved the rule just hours after releasing its text to the public, and less than two weeks after Abbott ordered TABC and the Texas Department of State Health Services to ban sales of THC “to minors” and to require verification of ID of all customers attempting to buy the products. The Tuesday morning meeting was the first public step toward fulfilling the governor’s directive by either agency.
However, the TABC’s rule does not encompass the entire landscape of retailers that sell the products. There are about 60,000 TABC license holders, such as restaurants and liquor stores, that can’t sell THC to people under 21 under the new rule. The rule wouldn’t apply to smoke shops, gas stations and online retailers that do not sell liquor and presumably do not have a liquor license with TABC. TABC communications director Chris Porter said the Department of State Health Services will be tasked with drafting its own rule for the remaining retailers, and enforcement may eventually be moved over to TABC.
TABC rules approved on an emergency basis are only in effect for up to 180 days, suggesting that the agency will formally adopt the 21 age limit and other regulations by then. The formal rulemaking process includes further public meetings and testimony and is expected to begin at the commission’s next meeting on Nov. 18. Conversations between TABC and DSHS to further determine regulatory duties for each agency are ongoing, Porter said.
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Lukas Gilkey, the CEO of Austin-based manufacturer of hemp-derived products Hometown Hero, called the commission’s approval “historic” and long overdue.
“For them to do this today is actually a really big deal for the industry and legitimizes the industry, so it’s an honor to be here and have them do that,” Gilkey said.
Mark Bordas, executive director of trade association the Texas Hemp Business Council, called the TABC rule a great start and said he expects TABC and DSHS to be able to work together to create a smooth regulatory process throughout the formal rulemaking period.
Betsy Jones, director of policy and strategy for Texans for Safe and Drug-Free Youth, noted her advocacy group had little time to review the rule proposal before the meeting and urged the agency to take careful consideration when reviewing how best to regulate hemp products in the state going forward.
“We know there’s still problems with alcohol, so we don’t want to see the same problems starting to happen because we opened up access to something without thinking about these issues.
Several advocates against the use of THC products testified against the rules as they were drafted entirely.
Aubree Adams, director of advocacy for Citizens for a Safe and Healthy Texas, advocated for the agency to increase the age restriction to prohibit anyone under the age of 25 from buying THC products, arguing the brain needs to be completely developed to reduce risk to people using cannabis products. Adams also noted that a large percentage of hemp products are purchased online, where TABC’s rule does not apply.
Christine Scruggs, an outspoken advocate against any recreational use of cannabis products, said her son struggled with THC dependency and suffered mental health effects from it before undergoing treatment.
“I no longer believe that any safe age is OK for hemp or cannabis products. Any person could be affected,” Scruggs testified.
See here and here for the background. My interpretation of who the TABC’s rule applies to suggests that any retailer who sells THC products and isn’t a TABC license holder is not covered by that rule. I think that probably also means that despite the executive order, they can continue to sell to whoever they want (at least, to anyone over 18) on the grounds that no one has the legal authority to stop them. This is very much one of those situations where you should absolutely not trust me to provide legal advice. I Am Not A Lawyer, this is my best guess. When DSHS publishes their rule, we’ll see if there are still loopholes.