Reporting by Felicity Guajardo, Corpus Christi Caller Times
Corpus Christi hemp retailers have pulled products from their shelves in response to a Texas ban on a variety of THC products that took effect on July 31.
The Texas Department of State Health Services reclassified all synthetically created THC forms, including delta-8, delta-10, THCP and THCA flower, as Schedule I controlled substances.
The move came after the Texas Supreme Court in May lifted a 2021 injunction that had blocked DSHS from enforcing the new classification.
Now, it is illegal in Texas to sell or possess hemp-derived THC products.
Delta-9 products are still legal as long as they don’t contain more than 0.3% THC by dry weight, as defined under the federal 2018 Farm Bill.
How local hemp businesses are adjusting
Craig Bethards is the owner of The House of Hemp on Airline Road, Crazy Craig’s Custom Pipes on Ayers Street and Crazy Craig’s House of Hemp on South Padre Island.
Bethards said that since there were no frameworks regarding synthetic or hemp-derived THC within the 2018 Farm Bill, this opened the door for a new market.
He compared delta-8, found in trace amounts within cannabis, to vitamin C supplements that are made in a lab as opposed to natural vitamin C occurring in fruits or vegetables.
That’s part of why he believes the new felony offense tied to synthetic THC is “ludicrous.”
“That is going way too far,” Bethards said. “There definitely needs to be regulation and limits on it like the amounts [of delta-8] they can put in products … but I think it’s ridiculous.”
He said that hemp-derived THC products have been pulled off the shelves multiple times since last year, and due to this, he started incorporating tobacco products within The House of Hemp inventory.
Bethards also said he has concerns about customers resorting to a black market, where there’s risk of laced products.
He is not the only hemp business owner who is concerned.
Rene Pena, who owns Panacea Hash Garden, estimated he has pulled 75% of his inventory to comply with the ban.
He said consumers of hemp-derived THC have relied on these products.
“I don’t think [DSHS understands] that a lot of people rely on this for relief, period,” Pena said. “When people find relief in something, they’re going to come get it. If it’s not here, it’ll be somewhere.”
Pena has had to scale back on hosting community events since the state banned THCA products, a main revenue driver.
Pena said small hemp businesses are “feeling the crunch” and the best path forward is to build regulation instead of prohibition.
“I think [the] best scenario that Texas consumers have is just a well-regulated cannabis system” that encompasses hemp and marijuana, he said.
Bethards agrees and has been a supporter for a regulatory body within the hemp industry.
“We’re honestly glad in some aspects that we’re having some legitimacy to the business now and … getting the government involved somewhat so it’s more open book to the public, but at the same time we wish it wasn’t so politically motivated,” Bethards said.
Law enforcement and criminal defense
The possession penalties of recreational marijuana compared to manufactured THC are vastly different.
For example, while recreational marijuana has a Class A misdemeanor classification for up to 2 ounces, possession of delta-8 is automatically a state jail felony.
That offense carries a sentence of 180 days to two years.
Depending on the weight of the banned product, sentencing can go all the way up to a first-degree felony.
The Narcotics and Vice Investigations Division of the Corpus Christi Police Department conducts random inspections of businesses to ensure they are in compliance with local, state and federal laws, and it plans to continue to conduct those inspections, the department said in a statement to the Caller-Times regarding the new ban. Enforcement may also occur through routine police activity or in response to complaints.
The statement also said officers have not noticed changes in the number of THC-related cases since the law took effect.
Nueces County Sheriff J.C. Hooper said in a text message that the sheriff’s office is waiting on official guidance from the Nueces County District Attorney’s Office on what evidence will need to be presented for THC prosecution.
The district attorney’s office did not respond to a request for comment from the Caller-Times.
Celina Leon, a criminal defense attorney in Corpus Christi, said that the area could see an influx of people arrested for THC offenses and that these cases can take a while to play out.
“When we’re looking at actual cases that get filed and cases that get indicted, typically they’re not indicted until the substance is tested at the [Texas Department of Public Safety] lab,” she said.
She said DPS crime laboratories are typically inundated with testing of other drugs such as cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine and the waiting period for results could last more than a year.
Leon also pointed out that even if a customer bought hemp-derived THC products before the ban, it is still illegal to be in possession of those products.
Ultimately, it is up to the customer to do their research before buying products to make sure they are in compliance with the law.
“A bunch of small businesses in the area are having to pull 60 to 90% of their products off the shelves, and if it’s somebody who may be a little late in the game or not realizing, ‘hey, I need to take this down too’, and you have citizens going in there and buying products — ultimately the person who is purchasing it and is in possession of it is going to be the person responsible,” Leon said.
Felicity Guajardo covers breaking news and public safety. Contact her at felicity.guajardo@caller.com.
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times.
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