That percentage is not a typo.
The Texas Department of State Health Services has published some proposed rules in order to strengthen the regulations on consumable hemp products. Some of these feel reasonable, such as a minimum purchasing age of 21, age verification requirements, and mandatory product recalls.
However, some price hike proposals are astronomical. A retail registration right now costs $150 in the state. They would like to change this cost to $20,000, a 13,000% hike. Along with that, a manufacturer license that now costs $250 per year would raise to $25,000.
Obviously, this would take many businesses out of the game, which is clearly the point here.
Many cannabis advocates in the state are up in arms about this. Heather Fazio, director of the Texas Cannabis Policy Center, tells The Texas Tribune “Many small businesses simply cannot absorb this level of cost and will be forced to shut down rather than renew.”
In a response to the backlash, the director of policy and strategy at Texans for Safe and Drug-Free Youth, basically says that since the cannabis industry is so wealthy, they should be able to pay for it.
“Cannabis advocates say this is a billion-dollar industry. It’s fair and appropriate for the people who profit from selling a billion dollars in intoxicating products to create fees that help cover the cost associated with the regulation and societal burden of the product.”
This all comes after Governor Abbott signed an executive order for regulations on the hemp market. There’s some infighting about whether or not to simply ban consumable hemp outright or create very tight regulations, and the regulations eventually won out.
The difference feels nonexistent at this point, considering regulations this tight would effectively do the same as a ban.
Public comment on these regulations continue through January 26th.
Read more at The Texas Tribune.
