The future of federal regulation for hemp-derived cannabinoids is hard to predict – but industry stakeholders might find a crystal ball in the form of Texas.
So far, Texas regulators have taken a hands-off approach that has allowed the state’s hemp-derived cannabinoid sector to thrive.
“That hands-off approach has really allowed the market to figure out what (consumers) want and producers and manufacturers to figure out how to best get those products to them,” said Colt Power, CEO of Power Biopharms, a low-THC hemp cultivation business in Euless, Texas. “If anything, a more hands-off approach has shown how this state is ready for this.”
Shayda Torabi, CEO and co-founder of Restart in Austin, said Texas also has proved states can have a legal market for intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids that doesn’t go the conventional route of legalizing medical marijuana and then recreational cannabis.
“Texas has a very large market. And it’s not the illicit market, it’s the hemp-derived market,” Torabi said.
“People really discredited Texas’ cannabis program. And that’s probably because for so long we were expected as a country to go through medical to adult use,” Torabi said. “The law very clearly identified less than 0.3% delta-9 THC on a dry-weight basis, which became ripe for fostering this whole other side of the market of minor cannabinoids – both psychoactive and nonpsychoactive as well as the hemp-derived delta-9 market.
“People recognize that Texas is not waiting to enter the game. We’re already in the game.”
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