Texas Senate passes full THC ban again

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — The Texas Senate has passed Senate Bill 5, a full ban on THC, in a 21-8 vote. The bill is very similar to SB 3 from the regular session, which Gov. Greg Abbott ultimately vetoed, saying it would not hold up in court. That version of the bill also passed 21-8.

That a full ban on THC passed in the chamber that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick presides over isn't surprise. The Lieutenant Governor has been a major proponent of banning THC, and has argued that legal hemp-derived products are marketed to children with harmful consequences.

Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, delivered remarks on the Senate floor in response to Abbott's legal critique in the veto proclamation.

"After the Arkansas case was recently overturned in the Eighth Circuit, no Federal Court has held that the state regulations of consumer health products are preempted from federal law," Perry said.

Perry and Sen. Molly Cook, D-Houston, engaged in a floor debate over the decision between regulation, as Abbott suggested in his veto proclamation, and a total ban. Cook pointed to the fact that the government regulates other things, including intoxicating products like alcohol. Perry appeared to suggest that alcohol should be banned too.

"[The alcohol] ship has sailed," Perry said. "The difference is, I'm told the THC component goes from 18 hours to four days in the body, that you could literally be tripping for four days on some of this stuff."

Cook pointed to the fact that THC can have therapeutic benefits, while alcohol does not, but still has consequences.

"I think alcohol has very, very few therapeutic benefits. I think cannabis has a lot of therapeutic benefits. Alcohol is an unbelievably high-risk substance -- DUIs, overdoses, liver disease," Cook said.

The arguments between regulation and ban are the same arguments the legislature has heard for months, both in floor debate and in public testimony. Now, the bill must clear the Senate one last time before heading to the House for consideration.

It is unclear if Abbott would sign a nearly identical bill to the one he vetoed last month.