You can’t make smokeables, but nothing says you can’t smoke them.

If you haven’t noticed the hemp bill, HB 1325, is sitting on the governor’s desk awaiting approval. It passed unanimously with amendments added in the senate and the house concurring with a supermajority. There were some initial reports on the bill that have since been deleted that spoke of smokeable products being prohibited and that the language was going to exclude cbd vapor products as well. That isn’t 100% true.

HB 1325 mentions twice in the language that creating smokeables in the state of Texas is prohibited.

SUBCHAPTER G. NONCONSUMABLE HEMP PRODUCTS
Sec. 122.301 MANUFACTURE.
(b) A state agency may not authorize a person to manufacture a product containing hemp for smoking, as defined by Section 443.001, Health and Safety Code.

Sec. 443.204 RULES RELATED TO SALE OF CONSUMABLE HEMP PRODUCTS.
(4) the processing or manufacturing of a consumable hemp product for smoking is prohibited.

HB 1325 Enrolled

The bill also defines smoking.

CHAPTER 443. MANUFACTURE, DISTRIBUTION, AND SALE OF CONSUMABLE HEMP PRODUCTS SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS Sec. 443.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(11)”Smoking” means burning or igniting a substance and inhaling the smoke or heating a substance and inhaling the resulting vapor or aerosol.

HB 1325 Enrolled

Take notice that smoking is also defining what is commonly known as vaping. Heating the substance and inhaling the resulting vapor is considered smoking in this bill. This will mean that hemp manufacturers and hemp growers cannot be in the business of creating hemp smokeables in the state of Texas. At the same time, the bill does not state that consumption of hemp smokeables is prohibited. By the notion, hemp cigarettes (also known as hempettes depending on who creates them) are illegal to create in Texas under this new bill, but not illegal to consume. CBD vapor fluids are illegal to create in the state of Texas, but not illegal to consume. These 4 times are the only time the word smoke or a derivative of it is used in the bill.

Something that the public may need to get more information on, that isn’t clarified in this bill, is the what is to be done about hemp grown in Texas that is shipped to another state for the explicit purpose of being turned into CBD vapor fluid or hemp cigarettes? Is that going to be illegal? How will a grower know if the wholesaler that they sell to is going to sell the product to someone that is in the industry of creating hempettes or CBD vape liquids? Can a company have a subsidiary in a state where it is legal to create hempettes, grow the hemp in Texas under one company, send it to another legal state with smokeables creating allowed and then have it shipped back to Texas as a legal consumable product? How much money is Texas going to miss out on because of this?

With all that aside, this is probably going to drain police funding like crazy in some areas. If you haven’t had your hands on a hempette yet, they look like a cigarette with typical cannabis plant matter stuffed in – because it is cannabis. When smoked they smell like someone is smoking a joint or a blunt. For the average person, unless they see the box they are going to assume that a person is smoking what the state defines as marijuana and not hemp. This perception is something that may go away over time as the citizens become more acclimated to the product availability and usage.

With that in mind, how are the police going to respond?

Sec. 122.358 POWERS AND DUTIES OF PEACE OFFICERS. (a) A peace officer may inspect and collect a reasonably sized sample of any material from the plant Cannabis sativa L. found in a vehicle to determine the delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of the plant material. Unless a peace officer has probable cause to believe the plant material is marihuana, the peace officer may not: (1)seize the plant material; or (2)arrest the person transporting the plant material.

(b)A peace officer may detain any hemp being transported in this state until the person transporting the hemp provides the documentation required by Section 122.356. The peace officer shall immediately release the hemp to the person if the person produces documentation required by that section.

Sec. 122.356. DOCUMENTATION AND OTHER SHIPPING REQUIREMENTS. (a) A person may not transport hemp plant material in this state unless the hemp: (1) is produced in compliance with: (A) a state or tribal plan approved by the United States Department of Agriculture under 7 U.S.C. Section 1639p; or (B) a plan established under 7 U.S.C. Section 1639q if the hemp was cultivated in an area where that plan applies; and (2) is accompanied by: (A) a shipping certificate or cargo manifest issued under Section 122.055 if the hemp originated in this state; or (B) documentation containing the name and address of the place where the hemp was cultivated and a statement that the hemp was produced in compliance with 7 U.S.C. Chapter 38, Subchapter VII, if the hemp originated outside this state.

HB 1325 Enrolled

If smell is still a probable cause and you are smoking a hempette, it would be plausible that any peace officer could use this to search your vehicle for other illegal or controlled substances. They may test it with a roadside kit and be given a positive test result for THC because their roadside testing kits do not test for amounts, but for presence. If it’s present, it’s a positive. You possibly can be arrested and detained until further information is found. The best you may be able to do is produce the container and hope that the proper information is kept on the container.

Now if you have an actual hemp product that meets the law, you’re going to be in the clear in the end, but still put through this mess of a process. Think of the fallout associated with sitting in a cell instead of minding your business. And who is going to pay for it in the long run? You and the rest of the taxpayers in your city, county and state.

What are your thoughts on this situation? Have you heard anything different? Speak out in the comments section below.