Sept 13, 2025 — Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has made it clear he would only support legislation that fully bans intoxicating hemp products, issued a statement Friday disagreeing with the governor’s recent executive order on THC. “This is not a personal fight with the governor (Greg Abbott),” Patrick said in a statement. “It is a disagreement on extremely important policy. We worked together well this session and will in the future. On this issue, we disagree.”
Patrick shed some light on the backroom negotiations playing out during the last special session, which ended earlier this month. The lieutenant governor said he spent hours working with House Speaker Dustin Burrows and Gov. Abbott to find a consensus on THC legislation. THC is the compound in cannabis that gives the user a high.
“We could not come to an agreement on a safe THC concentration, serving size, or amount that would not lead to intoxication and abuse. Though we tried to find common ground on a law to protect the public, the legislature simply could not vote for the unknown on those three critical issues,” Patrick’s statement read.
One of the biggest items on Abbott’s order is banning all THC product sales to people under the age of 21. He has tasked the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) and the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to begin the rulemaking process to ensure stores are checking IDs when selling these products. The two agencies are also tasked with creating new rules for regulating testing, package labeling, and increasing licensing fees. A spokesperson with the TABC said in a statement that the agency would start providing guidance to stakeholders in the coming weeks as it works with DSHS.
The executive order also directs the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to coordinate with TABC and local law enforcement in enforcing the new regulatory framework. However, Patrick claims there were agreements made between he and the governor that did not end up in the executive order. Those agreements included prohibiting smoke shops, gas stations, and corner stores from selling THC products, banning all smokable THC products and Delta 8 and 10 synthetics, and only allowing the sale of Texas-made hemp products.
“The executive order does none of this. Most of the issues in the executive order are left for agencies to look at in the future,” Patrick said. Patrick believes the only way to protect children is a complete ban on all THC products, which the legislature passed in Senate Bill 3 during the regular session. Abbott vetoed that bill because he claimed at the time it would be held up in courts. He placed THC regulation and restricting the sale to minors on both special sessions this summer. The legislature could not come to an agreement on what to do.
Patrick said he still fully supports the state’s medicinal program, the Texas Compassionate Use Program (TCUP), and CBD products. But he is firm in his stance to not regulate hemp-derived THC, because he believes it will open the door to recreational marijuana. “As always, I am open to conversations with the governor, as I would be on any issue,” Patrick said.
