“Attached is the lab report regarding the ‘CBD hemp oil’ from People’s Pharmacy.  The report indicates the presence of cannabidiol (CBD). The report does not indicate any detectable tetrahydocannabinol (THC).  Given certain ambiguities regarding the status of CBD under the Texas Controlled Substances Act (CSA), the department, after consulting with prosecutors, does not intend to pursue enforcement action based on the tested substance.  This discretionary enforcement decision does not constitute a general opinion about the legality of any product,” wrote D. Phillip Adkins, General Counsel, Texas Department of Public Safety.

Sheila Hemphill, Policy Director for TXHIA states, “Since January of 2016, we are aware of seven known conflicts with law enforcement, fortunately none have resulted in a conviction. Ambiguity in the law related to the status of CBD under the TCSA has caused general confusion, unnecessary expenditures by law enforcement, legal expenses and untold stress to innocent consumers and businesses. This event with People’s pharmacy demonstrates the necessity for our upcoming Texas Legislature to define industrial hemp as an agriculture crop separate from the marijuana definition in the CSA.”

Industrial hemp is not new to Texas and prior to prohibition, a 1938 Popular Mechanics article stated, “hemp grows luxuriously inTexas.”  At a recent Cochran County Farm Bureau meeting near Lubbock, attendees interested in growing this historical crop adopted a resolution approving the cultivation of industrial hemp suitable for seed, oil, fiber, and CBD, with a vote of seventy to one.  Coleman Hemphill, TXHIA Executive Director emphasized that, “our farmers are expressing a need for new beneficial crops to remain solvent through drought and profitable in down markets.  Industrial hemp needs half the water required by cotton and historically cotton has been Texas’ largest cash crop.  Lowered market prices for commodities and the loss of subsidies are jeopardizing our Texas farmer’s viability.”