Texas hemp businesses and advocacy groups have filed suit against state regulators over new rules banning products including smokable THCA flower.
The plaintiffs—the Texas Hemp Business Council (THBC), Hemp Industry & Farmers of America (HIFA), and multiple businesses—allege the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) and the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) bypassed the legislature to restrict consumable hemp products. Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) is also named as a defendant.
The core dispute involves how THC is measured. Texas law, enacted in 2019, permits cannabis products with a delta-9 THC concentration of no more than 0.3 percent. DSHS and HHSC adopted a "total delta-9 THC" standard using a post-decarboxylation formula that incorporates THCA into the calculation, effectively restricting a broader set of products.
Attorney David Sergi, leading the case, said "These Texas officials and state agencies are clearly attempting to create new law in direct contradiction to what the Texas legislature intended," adding: "We are seeking to halt rules that would effectively end the in-state production of hemp and the sale of hemp products—items the Legislature chose not to ban during recent legislative and special sessions."
The suit also challenges sharp licensing fee hikes: manufacturer licenses rose from $250 to $10,000 per facility and retailer registrations from $150 to $5,000 per location.
The complaint frames the rules against the legislature's failed attempt to restrict hemp: the 2025 legislature passed Senate Bill 3, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) vetoed it, and two special sessions produced no new law. "These measures do not implement the Legislature's policy choices; they replace them," the complaint states. "Texas law does not permit agencies to override that result through rulemaking."
Plaintiffs are seeking a temporary restraining order and injunctive relief from the District Court of Travis County.
Separately, Texas officials have conditionally approved new medical marijuana business licenses to expand the state's cannabis program. Last month, Texas voters approved a marijuana legalization question on the Democratic primary ballot. A February poll found 40 percent of Texas voters disapprove of how officials have handled marijuana and THC policy, against 29 percent who approve and 31 percent with no opinion; a separate survey found a plurality favor making the state's marijuana laws "less strict." The lieutenant governor and House speaker have also announced that Texas will launch its own ibogaine research program after no drug companies submitted qualifying proposals for state funds under a recently enacted law.
Read the lawsuit.
