There’s another installment of ongoing legal tussle between the State and members of the THC community. The Department of State Health Services, Texas (DSHS) has officially invited the Texas Supreme Court to intervene. Since the initial announcement from the department of State Health Services, thousands of users within the state along corporations and other stakeholders banded together to make their voice heard.
Since then, Austin hemp manufacturer Hometown Hero has taken the state’s health agency to court. The company won a temporary injunction against the state’s order to cease all D8 THC related activities. Even more recently, DSHS filed a motion with the Texas Supreme Court to have its ban on D8 products reinstated. However, the request was turned down swiftly. And since the injunction is still in effect, D8 THC products are legal to sell, buy, consume and distribute within the state.
Speaking on the result, Hometown CEO, Lukas Gilkey had this to say on his company’s YouTube page– “
“We won again – This is a huge win for Texas businesses, Texas veterans and Texans looking for medicinal relief they can easily acquire”
Delta-8 THC in Texas
Delta 8 THC’s journey into Texas came on the heels of the passing of the 2018 Federal Farm bill and the 2019 State Bill, House Bill 1325. These bills legalized the production, use and sale of hemp given it has a THC percentage of 0.3% or less. These made it possible for CBD stores across the state to stock the products and sell them to users.
But when the DEA chooses to ‘reschedule, delete or designate” a substance from its list of controlled substances, states can choose whether or not to accept said changes. That is why in August 2020, when DEA make a change to its list of controlled substances, changing the definition of the word marijuana extract to align with the 2018 Farm Bill. The state’s Department of Health objected to this change. They held a public hearing as required by law, which no one attended. This allowed the state of Texas to reject the changes and begin to wage war on THC isomers like Delta 8.
Where Things Stand
Now however, Hometown Hero’s lawyers have new claims. They claim that the DEA did not designate, reschedule or delete any item from its list of controlled substances. The implication of this means the state was not triggered to make any changes to its list. The lawyers also claim no one was in attendance at the hearing because there wasn’t any proper notice. These facts led the judge in charge of the case to place an injunction on the ban.
DSHS fired back, appealing the decision, making the products illegal for a short while again. However, the appeals court’s decision is in favor of the company, upholding the initial injunction while the case goes through litigation. This led the state’s department to petition the supreme court to reverse this decision which was denied last week. As it stands, this ruling takes the case back to the court of appeals. There, it should take anywhere between 6 months to a year to resolve.
But for many members of the Texas Delta 8 THC community, the sad reality is that this fight is far from over. Patients who have relied upon D8 products risk having that ripped away should the case fall apart next time it enters the court of appeals. We at GRH are awaiting more news with anticipation. We are always prepared to join in the fight again, like we have in the past.
