What kind of cannabis can you buy in Texas? How to understand what’s in the products for sale

From KUT News:

You can easily buy marijuana at thousands of locations across Texas.

That might surprise people who think weed is illegal in the Lone Star State. In many ways, it still is.

But Texans are legally devouring gummies, sipping THC seltzers and smoking pre-rolled joints sold in smoke shops that have become a sudden fixture at strip malls from El Paso to Beaumont.

Ask the clerk, and they’ll tell you: “It’s hemp.”

But that label is more legal fiction than scientific fact. State lawmakers now seem to realize that.

This week, they’re gathering for a special legislative session to regulate what has quietly become a $5 billion industry with more than 7,000 registered retail locations across Texas, according to one of the most widely cited economic analyses.

Even longtime champions of legal cannabis are calling for regulations, including more randomized testing, a ban on marketing to minors and child-resistant packaging.

“We all agree that young people [under age 21] shouldn’t be using cannabis recreationally,” said Heather Fazio, director of the Texas Cannabis Policy Center.

Existing law has no age limit for buying products, although many stores refuse sales to minors.

Until lawmakers adopt rules, consumers are on their own — navigating a booming, barely regulated market built on an arbitrary definition of what is and isn’t marijuana.

That means walls of colorful packaging listing confusing concoctions of cannabinoids, the active compounds in cannabis that get you high.

Marijuana contains more than 100 cannabinoids, but these are some of the most commonly sold. For those who like to vape, a new state law taking effect in September will ban vaping devices containing any cannabinoids.

We’ll look at where they come from and what scientists say about using them. But first, it’s worth understanding how Texas accidentally greenlit a weed economy.

One plant, two names

U.S. and Texas law tries to split cannabis into two separate plants by drawing an artificial distinction. This is the source of much confusion.

“In nature, there’s only one plant,” said Lukas Gilkey, CEO of Austin-based Hometown Hero. He’s been selling THC products in Texas since they became legal in 2019. “Hemp and marijuana are literally the same plant.”

Not according to the government’s definition. In 2018, Congress decreed hemp is any marijuana containing less than 0.3% of the most common type of THC, a cannabinoid known as delta-9. The definition was photocopied into Texas law the next year.

Cannabis exceeding that limit of delta-9 THC remains illegal both federally and at the state level.

Delta-9 happens to be the most common active ingredient of cannabis. Basically, it’s what Snoop Dogg has been rapping about for decades.

Using delta-9 THC to differentiate between hemp and marijuana dates back to a 1976 paper by scientists trying to distinguish cannabis grown for oil or fiber from cannabis cultivated to get high. Even those botanists — Ernest Small and Arthur Cronquist — acknowledged they were “arbitrarily adopting” the standard.

So, by enshrining this definition into law, those lesser-known cannabinoids have flooded the zone.

“This is all a byproduct of prohibition, the inability of people legislating to really take on the advice of scientists and physicians who might know a little bit more about this,” said Dr. Ethan Russo, a neurologist and longtime cannabis researcher.

Gaps that put consumers and kids at risk

Contrary to what you might have heard, the Texas marijuana market is not completely unregulated. The state has a list of rules around manufacturing, testing and selling products.

State regulations require tests by accredited labs on all hemp products sold in Texas. Labs check for things like heavy metals, residual solvents, pesticides and harmful microorganisms like E. coli and Salmonella. Companies making hemp products must obtain a license from the state’s health department. Stores selling them are required to register and pay an annual fee.

The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) is supposed to do random testing of hemp products on store shelves.

But serious doubts have been raised about these consumer protections.

During a marathon 17-hour hearing in the Texas House in April, a co-owner of Elevated CBD + Smoke in College Station said they had never been inspected in five years of operation.

“We’ve never been approached by DSHS,” Stephen Gurka said. “We welcome them.”

Other witnesses raised concerns about tests done by out-of-state labs over which the state government has no oversight.

“Lab fraud is an issue in the industry,” Susan Hays, an attorney practicing cannabis law, told House members. “There is a way to control that. … You make any lab who wants to test products to come into Texas, be licensed in Texas.”

“If you bust them cheating, yank their license, recall the products with their license on them,” she said. “That creates the economic incentive to keep people from cheating.”

These are exactly the types of issues state lawmakers are considering during their special session that began Monday.

In the meantime, consumers may want to do a bit of their own homework. Find a trustworthy store with knowledgeable employees who can point out more reputable brands.

“Vibes are really important,” said Cody Edwards, manager of Smoke ATX on Slaughter Lane. “Generally, the nicer the shop, the nicer the products. If you’re not comfortable there, I wouldn’t buy your product there.”

“If they don’t scratch your itch as far as answering questions and everything, maybe just take your business elsewhere,” he said.

Texas law has no rules requiring child-resistant packaging. Kids love candy, and many edibles come in colorful, eye-catching labels. Anyone with children in their home should keep hemp products in child-resistant containers and out of kids’ reach, pediatricians say.

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles recommends buying edibles with less enticing packaging and not eating them in front of kids. Nationwide Children’s Hospital, based in Ohio, says the safest bet is simply to not keep edibles in your home.

If you believe a child has consumed edible marijuana, you can call the nationwide poison control hotline at 1-800-222-1222.

Finally, marijuana use does come with risks. Smoking weed is bad for your lungs. For some people, it can be addictive.

If you don’t feel in control of your use of marijuana or any substance, the federal government offers a free, confidential helpline that’s open 24/7. The number is 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

So what is actually in these products? Let’s start with one of the most familiar items on the shelf: the dried, cured flowers of the plant itself.

THCA Flower: It’s weed, y’all

One of the most popular cannabis products in Texas is sold under the name THCA flower. This is just dried and cured marijuana, almost identical to what you’d find in any state where weed is legal.

THCA is just delta-9, the cannabinoid used by the government to draw a line between hemp and marijuana, before it has been heated or smoked. Think of it like popcorn kernels. Unpopped, they don’t do much. But apply heat in a joint, a bowl or vape pen, and you “pop” the THCA into delta-9.

THCA is also one of the most legally controversial categories in the Texas cannabis market. Police in less pot-friendly jurisdictions across Texas have been raiding businesses selling THCA flower. In Allen, local law enforcement cooperating with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration invited CBS News to video them pulling products off shelves.

“The THCA thing is one of these sort of like legal quirks,” said Katherine Harris, a drug policy fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute. “Once hemp’s been harvested, it can have any amount of THCA, so long as it doesn’t have more than 0.3% delta-9 THC.”

Some states have passed laws to measure delta-9 THC after the product has been heated, Harris said, but Texas law doesn’t have such a standard. It raises a legal question about whether police are acting lawfully when they raid stores and seize property from licensed businesses selling THCA flower.

Even in states where recreational marijuana is legal, most of the THC in cannabis flower comes from THCA. For example, at Nevada-based dispensary Planet 13, one strain called Hawaiian Mints is listed as having 28.03% THCA and 0.31% Delta-9 THC — almost meeting the Texas definition of hemp.

Because “hemp flower” with under 0.3% delta-9 THC looks exactly like something you could buy at a Colorado dispensary, a police officer might think it’s illegal and arrest someone who believed they were purchasing a legal product. If THCA flower is sent to the state’s crime lab for testing, it will be heated before testing for delta-9 levels.

Or the opposite could happen.

In Austin, police aren’t arresting people for small amounts of cannabis, in part because they can’t tell the difference without expensive lab equipment the city decided not to buy in 2020.

Delta-9 THC: The real thing and the most restricted in Texas

As a cannabinoid that’s been getting humans high for thousands of years, delta-9 THC has the most established medical research behind it.

“It is responsible for many therapeutic effects,” Dr. Russo said. “Certainly at low doses, there are many very important therapeutic effects that really aren’t achieved by any conventional drug.”

Because the state law restricting delta-9 THC is based on concentration, not total dose, manufacturers can create edibles that pack a punch simply by increasing the weight of the gummy.

A 6-gram gummy, for example, could contain up to 18 milligrams of delta-9 THC in Texas, nearly double the maximum dose per gummy in Colorado, where recreational marijuana is legal.

That might be fine for regular users, but for someone new to cannabis, it could be a rough ride.

Experts recommend starting low — around 2.5 to 5 milligrams of delta-9 THC — and waiting at least 90 minutes before taking more. Edibles take longer to kick in than smoking or vaping. Cannabis drinks can be more quickly absorbed than other edibles, Edwards and other experts said.

“I’ve lost count of the number of times people have said, ‘Oh, I took it, and 30 minutes in I didn’t feel anything, so I ate another one, and then I got too high,” Gilkey said. “Be patient.”

Everyone’s tolerance is different, he added.

“It would be like me telling you, like, you only need one beer and you’re going to feel great,” Gilkey said. “That doesn’t work for everybody.”

Marijuana advocates want broader legalization of delta-9 THC to push the more processed cannabinoids out of the marketplace.

Delta-8: Diet weed

Delta-8 THC is one of the most widely available cannabinoids in Texas and also one of the most confusing. It’s often described as “weed light,” with effects that are milder than delta-9.

For some people, that’s a selling point.

“We kind of call it Diet D-9,” Edwards said. “It’s still going to have some kick to it, no doubt.”

But it doesn’t affect everyone the same, he said.

“Sometimes D-8 is known to give people headaches a little bit more often than usual, or a groggy or foggy kind of high,” Edwards said.

Delta-8 occurs naturally in cannabis in very small amounts. But most delta-8 sold in Texas stores is made by converting CBD — a widely-used and far less controversial cannabinoid that doesn’t get people high — through a chemical process involving solvents and acids. That process is what makes some scientists and policy advocates uneasy.

“It’s not the delta-8 THC that is dangerous, but in the synthetic production, which is not well regulated at all,” Dr. Russo said. “There are many contaminants that are invariably present and often solvents, so chemical residues that shouldn’t be in there.”

Delta-8 is banned in 17 states and restricted in seven more, according to the National Cannabis Industry Association.

But Gilkey, who sells delta-8 products at Hometown Hero, argues Texas regulations protect consumers, at least when companies follow them.

“That might be an issue in other places,” he said. “Because we’re licensed and we have to abide by the [Texas] Department of State Health Services rules. You’re legally required to get a full panel analysis done on all your products.”

But as mentioned earlier, some have raised doubts about the rigor of the state’s testing requirements. So a lot comes down to the trustworthiness of the manufacturer.

“If you just simply follow the QR code to their website, you can see the full panel analysis,” Gilkey said. “If you don’t see a [certificate of analysis] that looks reliable and it looks recent, I wouldn’t buy the product.”

Delta-8 remains popular among people looking for a milder alternative to traditional marijuana. But like most everything else in the Texas hemp market, consumers are largely left on their own to figure what’s safe and what’s not.

THCP: Not for beginners

Of all the cannabinoids widely sold in Texas, THCP might be the most potent and the least understood. It’s also available in a wide range of products.

THCP binds to the same receptors in the brain as delta-9 THC, but with far more intensity. The cannabinoid occurs naturally in trace amounts, but — like delta-8 — the THCP in commercial products is almost always converted from hemp-derived CBD.

“THCP can be very, very strong,” Gilkey said. “I would recommend that THCP is for the more advanced users.”

THCP often shows up in combination with other cannabinoids in vape cartridges, gummies or drinkables. The concentration may be lower because it’s more powerful. But unlike delta-8 or delta-9, there’s less consumer awareness around how much THCP is too much or how long it lasts in the body.

“In my opinion, it takes a little bit longer to kick into your system, but it stays with you for noticeably longer,” Edwards said. “Edibles and stuff, I don’t usually myself take [THCP] after like 4 or 5 p.m., because it takes a while for them to kick in, and I know it’s going to stay with me until I’m trying to go to bed, and I might wake up a little groggy.”

When dosed in the right amounts, THCP can produce effects very similar to delta-9 THC. But using too much, especially with edibles, can lead to serious problems.

In excessive doses, THCP might produce panic or a “toxic psychosis” that might require sedation to treat, Dr. Russo said.

“This is basically a situation in which a person takes a vacation from reality for a while, which might sound OK, but they’re likely to wind up in an emergency room acting crazy and paranoid and extremely stressed, and that’ll persist until it wears off,” he said.

In appropriate doses, many use THCP safely with no issues. But once again, the state’s restrictions on the well-known delta-9 cannabinoid have opened the door to powerful alternatives with no regulations and relatively little scientific research behind them.

HHC: The margarine of marijuana

HHC is another hemp-derived cannabinoid in Texas smoke shops, often seen in combination with other compounds extracted from marijuana. HHC is chemically similar to THC, but hydrogenated, meaning it’s been altered to be more shelf-stable and potentially longer lasting.

“It’s essentially margarine, whereas THC is butter,” Harris said. “It’s a very chemically modified compound related to THC.”

Some consumers say the effects of HHC are milder even than delta-8. Others say they feel it faster.

“HHC is kind of a quick-acting one,” Edwards said. “It gets in your system a little sooner and wears off a little quicker. … I don’t think, personally, in my experience, that it’s one of my favorites.”

While HHC may occur naturally in the cannabis plant, the chemically converted version sold in stores raises red flags among health experts.

“We don’t know how stringent the techniques used were,” Dr. Russo said. “Nobody would be using [HHC] or any of these others if there were a regulated market for natural cannabis based products.”

Health risks of THC use

While some of the fears swirling around THC products in Texas have reached supersized proportions, that doesn’t mean there aren’t real risks — especially for younger users, those who take high doses or those who use novel cannabinoids.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wants THC banned entirely. His bill to do just that was passed by the state legislature during the regular session. But Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed it and called for a special session to regulate hemp products.

Patrick said Senate Bill 3 would save “an entire generation from being hooked on drugs.” At a June news conference following Abbott’s veto, Patrick implied consumable THC products are driving up suicide rates in young people and can “ruin your whole mental state for the rest of your life.”

His statements were echoed by parents across Texas, who said the state’s unregulated THC market had unraveled their teenagers’ lives.

Brunella Braga testified before lawmakers in April that her son — once a “determined, caring and an excellent student” — had to be admitted to a mental hospital and go through multiple rounds of rehab after using THC products he bought at a vape shop.

“My son became aggressive, unable to reason or express himself. My husband and I had to hide kitchen knives, sleep with our bedroom door locked,” Braga said. “One time, I was so scared and frightened that I stayed in a hotel for a few nights, leaving my husband to watch him.”

Critics argue worst-case scenarios, like what Braga described, don’t reflect the common reality of cannabis use.

For starters, no deaths from marijuana have ever been recorded, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Still, Dr. Maria Monge, an Austin pediatrician, said the risks are real and more serious the younger a person is when they start using any cannabis.

“We know that the younger people start using cannabis products, the more likely they are to actually lose IQ points, to have worse mood outcomes — even increased risk for psychosis,” Monge said. “We know there is increased risk for using other substances as well.”

A study in the National Library of Medicine suggests cannabis-induced psychosis is more likely to happen to people genetically predisposed to schizophrenia, but more research is needed before scientists can draw a definitive conclusion.

But more recent research suggests increased availability of marijuana hasn’t led to higher rates of psychosis. A 2023 study of insurance claims data found no significant differences in the rates of psychosis-related diagnoses or prescribed antipsychotics in states with legal marijuana compared to those without.

Still, physicians have concerns that weed may affect some people more than others.

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