The U.S. hemp industry, valued at $8 billion and with a significant presence in Texas retail real estate, faces uncertainty due to new language included in the continuing appropriations and extensions act. This federal spending bill, designed to end the government shutdown, contains provisions that would effectively ban most hemp products containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) nationwide.
If enacted, the measure would not take effect for another year. However, experts warn that this timeline offers little reassurance for businesses already concerned about their future. The proposed ban could result in thousands of business closures across Texas and leave up to 17 million square feet of retail space vacant, impacting the commercial real estate market.
“It would have to be the passion project of a politician willing to die on that hill,” said Brandon Dorsky, a California cannabis attorney who has worked in the field since 2009. “And there’s only one of those — Rand Paul.”
Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky introduced an amendment this week seeking to remove the ban from the bill. He cautioned that it would “regulate the hemp industry to death” and undo years of progress for consumers and farmers. The amendment was rejected by a vote of 76–24; Senator Paul and Texas Senator Ted Cruz were the only Republicans supporting it. Cruz stated on X that decisions regarding hemp and marijuana regulation should be made at the state level rather than by federal mandate.
Texas’ hemp sector grew rapidly after passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized products containing 0.3 percent or less THC. Currently, more than 50,000 jobs and about 8,500 businesses are supported statewide by this industry—including both small CBD shops and large retailers such as H-E-B.
Under the proposed legislation, allowable THC content would drop dramatically to just 0.4 milligrams per package—a threshold Senator Paul argued would eliminate all existing hemp-derived products from shelves. He attributed problems in enforcement to “bad actors” exploiting loopholes in current law but said that Congress’s response is overly broad.
Earlier attempts at banning intoxicating hemp products at the state level failed when Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s initiative was vetoed by Governor Greg Abbott—a move welcomed by industry stakeholders as crucial for survival.
Now national advocacy groups like the Texas Hemp Business Council are organizing opposition efforts against what they describe as hasty legislative action: “Hemp is too vital to the American economy to be dismantled by rushed, politically driven legislation,” according to a statement from the group, which pledged continued legal and legislative resistance.
