The Brief Greg Abbott vetoed a controversial THC ban, SB 3 Local hemp businesses are now breathing a sigh of relief The veto also triggered a reaction from Dan Patrick

Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s last-minute veto of a controversial THC ban triggered an immediate reaction from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and the state’s booming hemp industry.

With a last-minute veto of SB 3, local hemp businesses are breathing a sigh of relief.

Cedar Park business reacts

Local perspective:

At J Heart CBD in Cedar Park, the mood Sunday night went from tense to triumphant.

“Last night, my coworker and I started screaming. We were so excited to have that happen that changed our lives because our trajectory wasn’t. We’re going to lose our job and have to go find another job,” said Lizzie Taylor, Store Manager, J Heart CBD Cedar Park.

“We were really thankful when Governor Abbott came around last night and basically said, you know, we want regulation, but we can’t do this whole ban, not every single store,” said Taylor.

Taylor says with 75 % of their products THC-based she says the team was looking at different avenues on how to move forward if the ban was implemented. But that wasn’t the case.

“Coming in today, our customers are excited. We’re like fist pumping with them. They’re like, yeah, we’re like woooohoo it’s a community-wide like victory. So, we’re all super excited like we’ve never had this much hope and as much morale. We have such community morale,” said Taylor.

For Taylor, she says the team is going to enjoy this victory but looks forward to doing so in a more regulated way for her customers.

“We’re taking it. We’re running we’re going to bring on new products. We’re going to try and find better ones, get rid of old ones that don’t have what we like in terms of regulation and move forward with health and safety in mind,” said Taylor.

Abbott vetoes SB 3

The backstory:

The reaction came after Governor Greg Abbott vetoed Senate Bill 3 late Sunday night.

The bill would have effectively banned THC products in Texas — threatening the operations of stores just like this one.

SB 3 is one of 26 bills vetoed by Abbott in this year’s legislative session.

In his veto proclamation, he called the bill “well-intentioned,” but said it would never go into effect — pointing to valid constitutional challenges and ongoing litigation.

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Abbott’s proclamation also calls for a regulatory framework that quote “Protects public safety, aligns with federal law, has a fully funded enforcement structure, and can take effect without delay.”

But the decision to veto came with strong opposition from Lt. Governor Dan Patrick.

“I’m stunned. I’m stunned that he wants to legalize marijuana in the state of Texas, so I’m not having a bad day, Texas is having a bad day,” said Patrick.

“Who are we as a state? We think we’re going to attract business here if we have a bunch of people high,” Patrick added.

SB 3 now joins several items on the table at a special session on July 21.