HB 46 SIGNED. SB 3 VETOED. TEXAS HALTS THE BAN BUT NOT THE MONOPOLY

Three licensed medical cannabis companies spent months lobbying for Senate Bill 3—a measure that would have outlawed delta-8, THCA flower, infused beverages, and vapes across Texas.Their goal? To dismantle the state’s $5.5 billion hemp industry and consolidate control over the entire THC market.But on June 22, 2025, Governor Greg Abbott vetoed SB 3.The public spoke—and, this time, the governor listened.For now, SB 3 is dead.The veto spared 7,500 hemp retailers and an estimated 50,000 jobs from elimination. Yet even as advocates celebrated, another legislative move quietly secured the cannabis status quo.

HB 46 Signed: Progress or Power Grab?Just one day earlier, Abbott signed House Bill 46, expanding Texas’ restrictive medical cannabis program. Supporters hailed it as progress. In reality, it entrenches a monopoly for three companies while keeping THC access limited, expensive, and out of reach for most Texans.What HB 46 does:

✅ Allows:

• Vapes, patches, and higher THC caps

• Additional qualifying medical conditions

🚫 Still Restricts:

• Only 15 vertically integrated dispensaries statewide

• Only specially registered physicians can approve patients

• 90-day treatment rule delays urgent access

• High product costs with no price competition

• No smokable flower permitted

• Just ~29,000 patients qualify—out of a population of 31 million

For context: Sunland Park, New Mexico (pop. 11,000) hosts roughly 15 dispensaries. Texas, with 31 million residents, allows the same number.

Who Controls Texas Cannabis?1. Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation (TOCC)

• Backed by AFI Capital

• CEO: Nico Richardson (secured $21M investment)

• Lobbyist: Logan Spence, former Chief of Staff to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick

• Supplied 77% of Texas medical cannabis in 2022

2. Goodblend (Surterra Texas)

• Run by Tommy Craddick Jr., son of a former Texas House Speaker

• Lobbyist: Luis Saenz, Abbott’s former Chief of Staff

3. Blissful Cannaco

• Established just before SB 3 was filed

• Lobbyist: Taylor Cummins, linked to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s legal team

Combined lobbying spend: Over $546,000 in the current legislative session.

The Big PictureFor now, Texas’ hemp industry has been spared. But the state’s medical program remains tightly controlled by a small circle of powerful players.The fight for true cannabis access—and against monopolistic control—is far from over.Presented by NuggNotes

 Sources:

• Marijuana Policy Project. “Texas Becomes 40th State to Legalize Medical Cannabis.” 21 June 2025, mpp.org.

• Jaeger, Kyle. “Texas House Approves Bill to Expand Medical Marijuana Access.” Marijuana Moment, 12 May 2025, marijuanamoment.net.

• Texas Department of Public Safety. Compassionate Use Program: Evaluation and Recommendations, 2024, dps.texas.gov.

• Tomlinson, Chris. “Texas Medical Marijuana Firms Hired Republicans to Ban THC.” Houston Chronicle, 13 June 2025, houstonchronicle.com.

• Barragán, James. “Texas Legislature on Verge of Completely Banning THC Products Derived from Hemp.” Texas Tribune, 21 May 2025, texastribune.org