North Texas police chief says Abbott's THC age limit doesn't address real issue

Police chief disapproves of Gov. Abbott's THC order

Allen Police Chief Steve Dye is voicing frustration about Gov. Greg Abbott's executive order calling for regulation of THC.

ALLEN, Texas - Allen Police Chief Steve Dye is voicing frustration about Gov. Greg Abbott's executive order calling for regulation of THC.

He says it will allow rogue vape shops to continue to sell illegal products. 

THC being sold in Texas stores

GARLAND, TX-JULY 22: Hippy Bee Dispensary owner Chris Fagan holds a hemp flower on Saturday, July 22 2023 in Garland, TX. The Bee Hippy Hemp Dispensary was raided along with the homes of Chris Fagan and David Dranguet an employee at the store by Garl

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The backstory:

The governor's executive order bans vape shops from selling hemp products to kids under 21, but those who wanted a ban on THC products say that it’s too little too late for an industry profiting off illegal products in deceptive packaging. 

In Texas, cannabis-derived THC products that produce a high are illegal, while a loophole allowing for hemp-derived psychoactive compounds has created a booming industry in the state.

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But as an undercover video shown to lawmakers last month shows, many vape shops are ignoring the law, passing off illegal amounts of delta 9 in products marketed as hemp derivatives like delta 8.

Police say the products the undercover officers bought from three North Texas vape shops had THC concentrations ranging from 72 to 79 percent — well above the Texas legal limit of 0.3 percent.

Texas THC ban fails

Dig deeper:

Dye, representing the Texas Police Chiefs Association, advocated for a ban on all THC products.

The bill passed in both the House and Senate, but in the end, Abbott vetoed it, opting instead for a ban on hemp products for those under 21. 

‘Contents that never match the label’

What they're saying:

Dye says the new executive order won't solve the problem of illegal sales. 

"You have to have a trustworthy industry partner to regulate to know when they put something in a package, it matches the label. We just don't have that with the THC consumables industry," said Dye. "Over and over, we've seized products almost always over .3% contents that never match the label."

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Gov. Abbott signs executive order banning sale of THC products to those under 21

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday signed an executive order banning the sale of hemp products to anyone under the age of 21.

Dye says he first began looking into vape shops after families devastated by the products sold approached him for help. 

"We are here to protect the health and safety of the public. A lot of people are driving high, there’s no way to determine their level of intoxication, and families are devastated by high-potency products," Dye said.

‘We need some age restrictions’

The other side:

Texas Agricultural Commissioner Sid Miller says the executive order will help.

"At a minimum, we need some age restrictions," Miller said. "You know, we had no regulation whatsoever, so, you know, a 7th grader could go to a convenience store, buy, you know, THC delta-9 laced gummies, and go back to junior high and pass them out. We don't need that, and his executive order stops that.

There are 8,500 vape shops in Texas. 

"I'm not a, you know, a guy that likes a lot of regulations out of the government, but in this case, I think it was necessary and needed," said Miller.

Miller says he doesn't expect to see an increase in hemp farms in Texas.

"We've overproduced the CBD, the hemp, which is how these products are made. We've probably got enough in storage to last another five or six years," Miller said.

What's next:

The governor's executive order directs the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and the Texas Department of State Health Services to write the rules regulating hemp products containing less than 0.3 percent THC.