New Texas hemp ban forces store closures as smokable products become illegal

Texas ban on smokeable THC products begins this week

Texas is set to put a ban on smokeable products with more than .3% THC this week. FOX 4's Steven Dial has more on how this could affect North Texas businesses.

ADDISON, Texas - A new rule that takes effect tomorrow banning certain products sold in CBD and vape shops. The change also eliminates smokable hemp products and adds an increased licensing fee for shop owners. 

FOX 4 reports that the changes are already making it tough for at least one Dallas-Fort Worth business.

Impact of the smokable hemp ban on revenue

What we know:

CBD farmhouse near Addison will close today because of the new change, as other businesses that are staying open tell FOX 4 that the change will still have a significant impact on their revenue.

Several customers still walked into a mostly empty CBD farmhouse on Monday, on their last day of business. 

The new state rule eliminates smokable hemp products and, for many stores, that is a large portion of their revenue.

The retail manager at CBD Farmhouse, Hailee Navarrette, said that the rule couldn't have come at a worse time.

"We were in the process of moving to a new location, so really bad timing. Along with the license fee increases and the loss to a chunk of our revenue, that's a lot," said Navarrette. "We want safe regulated products, why would you want people to buy illegally which they are going to do. They are upset."

When asked if they will still seek a new location, Navarrette says they are just closing down.

Hailee Navarrette

Skyrocketing licensing fees for retailers

Dig deeper:

The fight over legal hemp in Texas continues to evolve. The changes last year and now are really hitting their revenue. 

"I would say about half, since they banned the disposable vapes back in September that was 25%, it became 50% with the flower," said the store manager.

The new rule will also increase the licensing fee for CBD and vape shops from just over $150 to $5,000.

Dallas Hemp Co is keeping their doors open, despite the change. The CEO told FOX 4 that they had a lot of business over the weekend. 

"People are trying to stock up and make sure they have what they want," said Shan Claudio, CEO of Dallas Hemp Co. "It will be about 30% of our sales will go away, but we will work around that and make sure people get what they want."

New requirements for packaging and age limits

The changes also call for child-resistant packaging, new labels and raising the purchasing age to 21 years and older. Most of these changes are already being implemented by most Dallas-Fort Worth businesses. 

Businesses that are noncompliant can lose their license and have up to $10,000 in fines each day the product is sold in stores.