The Texas Department of Public Safety has issued provisional licenses to nine new medical marijuana operators while existing ones have started opening new manufacturing and cultivating facilities.

While Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick remains adamant about a ban, hemp industry representatives say they would compromise on creating a 21 age limit to purchase.

Texas lawmakers start a 30-day special session July 21. They will tackle consumable THC, flood dangers, new congressional districts, abortion pills and other conservative priorities.

Medical program leaders want a ban on synthetic delta-8 THC, which makes up the bulk of consumable hemp products.

Although Patrick and hemp industry leaders have quarreled over the risks and benefits of THC, cannabis researchers say it can be addictive but doesn’t usually cause widespread psychosis or brain damage.

This week, we run an emergency episode to discuss Gov. Greg Abbott vetoing Texas THC ban and calling a special session. Will redistricting end up on the agenda?

Texas hemp users stockpile products and consider moving out of state as ban looms, saying the medical marijuana program is currently an untenable alternative.

It’s an unusual situation for the lieutenant governor, long viewed by GOP activists as a stalwart conservative responsible for driving the Legislature rightward.

House Bill 46, which awaits Gov. Greg Abbott’s approval, would include more patients with chronic pain and allow for prescribed vaporized and aerosol products, such as vapes.

In this week’s episode, Matthew and Eleanor talk with politics reporter Jasper Scherer about education funding, a THC ban and the success of conservative priorities this year.

The governor has not addressed whether he supports the ban, as hemp industry leaders have urged him to veto Senate Bill 3.

A bill that would make it illegal to sell THC products could soon head over to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk. For a cannabis store employee, lawmakers don't know enough about the industry they're trying to shut down.

Gov. Greg Abbott called a special legislative session asking lawmakers to instead strictly regulate the substance.

House Bill 46 would increase the number of health conditions eligible and would offer smokeable products under the state’s medical marijuana program.

Patrick says the measure will shut down the dangerous THC products business. The House’s proposal would tighten oversight of the industry without a full ban.

There is little doubt that a ban will sail through the Senate. But its prospects are far less certain in the House.

Medical marijuana providers say they must operate under strict rules while hemp products like delta-8 can proliferate.

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Other cities have passed similar measures, but Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued to block them from going into effect.

Lawmakers are struggling to balance demands for medicinal cannabis products with a wildly growing market that is outpacing meaningful regulation.

Thousands of hemp dispensaries have sprung up in Texas in the years since consumable hemp became legal.

There is no process in Texas for a voter-driven statewide referendum. So, supporters are going city by city to build statewide momentum.

Bellaire Police stated via Facebook they were part of the team investigating a suspected illegal marijuana operation and that arrests were pending.

The bipartisan legislation is an expansion on the state’s 2015 “Compassionate Use” law, which has allowed a growing number of patients to legally use cannabis to treat debilitating symptoms of conditions such as epilepsy, autism, cancer and PTSD.

The new delta-8 hemp products, which are widely available, can produce a high similar to marijuana’s. State Sen. Charles Perry said he and his peers never intended for such products to reach the market.

Since 2015, medical marijuana has been legal in Texas, and in 2019, the list of conditions it can be used to treat was expanded.

In 2019, Texas legalized hemp, but not marijuana. The new law led to confusion about which marijuana products are legal in Texas. Meanwhile, support for legalizing the drug remains high in polling, and other cannabis-derived products like delta-8 have emerged.

According to the National Conference on State Legislatures, 37 states allow medical marijuana while 19 states allow adults to use it for non-medical reasons.

Gov. Greg Abbott’s openness to marijuana decriminalization shows that the state, while conservative, isn’t immune to larger trends.

A new law going into effect Sept. 1 will also increase the cap of THC in medical marijuana to 1%.

House Bill 1535 expands eligibility for the Texas Compassionate Use Program to people with cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder. It's effective Sept. 1.

House Bill 1535 would expand the state’s medical cannabis program to include those with chronic pain, all cancer patients and Texans with post-traumatic stress disorder. But it hasn’t yet been referred to a Senate committee.

HOUSTON – There are no less than 20 bills up for consideration regarding marijuana this legislative session in Texas but don’t bet the farm that any of them will become law. He said he believes that without the governor and lieutenant governor on board, marijuana legalization in Texas is destined for failure. “Criminal Justice Chair John Whitmire is right that HB63 is dead in the Texas Senate,” Texas Lt. Gov. In 2015, the Texas Legislature passed a marijuana “Compassionate Use” law that allows doctor-prescribed low-THC-level marijuana to epilepsy patients. There are more bills up for consideration this legislative session that would further expand marijuana treatment options.

While we may not know if President Donald Trump or former Vice President Joe Biden won the presidential election for a while longer, there was one clear “winner” on election night, and that was recreational drugs. States across the country have been legalizing recreational marijuana every election cycle, and 2020 was no different. Residents in New Jersey, Arizona, Montana and South Dakota all voted to legalize recreational cannabis, and South Dakota also legalized medical marijuana, along with Mississippi. South Dakota became the first state to legalize medical and recreational marijuana in the same election. For the first time in U.S. history, the state of Oregon decriminalized possession of hard drugs, as well as voted to legalize psychedelic mushrooms.

While lawmakers in the 86th Texas Legislature advanced measures on some controversial issues, they know it often takes several sessions to pass bills and say they intend to refile them next time.

Watch the first episode of our mini-documentary series, “Under the Dome,” chronicling the cast of characters passing laws in the Texas State Capitol.