Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller Wants Smokable Hemp Back in Texas

Last year, the Texas Supreme Court upheld the state’s decision to prohibit manufacturers from creating and selling smokable hemp products. Now, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller says the move has stifled competition in the hemp market, especially for Texas farmers.

“As Texas Agriculture Commissioner, it is my duty to bring to your attention a problem in the state’s hemp law that is burdening our industry,” Miller wrote in a statement last month. “After three years of administering our hemp program, it’s clear the legislature’s effort to ban smokable hemp products has reduced our competitiveness to other states and harmed our farmers.

“The ban on smokable hemp products has confused and discouraged licensed growers and forced out processing facilities on which those growers depend.”

Hemp was federally legalized in 2018, and Texas passed a bill to do the same the following year. That bill, House Bill 1325, tasked the Texas Department of State Health Services with creating rules for the consumable hemp program in Texas. One rule the state agency settled on led to a legal battle between the state and hemp manufacturers. The agency banned the processing, manufacturing, distribution and retail sale of smokable hemp. 

“The ban on smokable hemp products has confused and discouraged licensed growers and forced out processing facilities on which those growers depend.” – Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller

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In response, some companies just made sure their smokable products weren’t labeled as smokable. Others, like Crown Distributing, America Juice Co., Custom Botanical Dispensary and 1937 Apothecary, sued. These companies filed a lawsuit against the state, claiming that the ban on smokable hemp products was a violation of the Texas Constitution. The suit said this is because “its real-world effect is so burdensome as to be oppressive in light of any governmental interest.”

The case went all the way to the Texas Supreme Court. But in June 2022, the hemp companies got an unfavorable decision from the court. The state’s ban on smokable hemp was allowed, the court ruled. As a result of the lawsuit, it’s illegal only to process and manufacture hemp for smoking in Texas. Smokable hemp products can still be sold in the state as long as they weren’t made here.

Chelsie Spencer, a cannabis lawyer at Addison-based Ritter Spencer PLLC, represented the hemp companies in their suit against the state. She told the Observer that the case was the end of the line as far as state challenges were concerned.

Now, Miller is turning to the Texas Legislature for help. As a hemp farmer himself, Miller said he knows the nuances and costs of being in the industry. “Being able to sell my crop as a smokable product is one of the most profitable methods for me to recover my costs,” Miller said.

Texas Hemp Growers and several other organizations have been trying to get the ban reversed. The group proposed a change to the state’s hemp laws to do so. “I agree with Texas Hemp Growers’ assessment on the damage caused by the smokable hemp ban and the benefits we could see if it is reversed,” Miller said. Reversing the smokable hemp ban, he said, “would help make our state’s hemp industry competitive and help our farmers.”

Miller has also asked lawmakers to focus on drag shows and ending gender-affirming care, so we’ll see if they have time to think about Texas hemp farmers this legislative session.