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Texas Tried to Kill Smokable Hemp—But It’s Back (Though Temporary)

A rule change wiped Texas hemp flower off shelves overnight. A judge just brought it back.

By Maha Haq | Reviewed by Ysolt Usigan

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For about two weeks, smokable hemp in Texas got yanked from shelves after new rules pushed most products out of compliance. No THCA flower. No pre-rolls. No jars of “legal weed” sitting behind the counter at smoke shops or hemp retailers. It wasn’t a dramatic, headline-grabbing ban either. A regulatory change, buried in how the state defines THC, quietly removed most smokable products the moment it went into effect. And just as quickly as it disappeared, it’s back.

A Travis County judge stepped in and paused the rule behind the crackdown, which means smokable hemp is back on shelves across Texas—for now.

It’s also not settled. There’s a hearing later this month, and depending on how that goes, everything could flip again.

How Smokeable Hemp Disappeared Overnight

Texas regulators changed how THC is measured.

As of March 31, the state moved to a “total THC” standard, which includes THCA—the compound that converts into THC when heated. That detail matters because most hemp flower stays under the legal limit in its raw form, but exceeds it once that........

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