With a dwindling selection of THC products on their shelves, Texas hemp shops are pitching customers something new this election season: political revenge.
Some stores have registered people to vote. Others are displaying voter guides near checkout counters, making the case for hemp-friendly candidates from both parties, although most are Democrats.
But most of the industry's political anger is directed at one man: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who wields enormous influence over legislation by appointing Senate committee chairs and influencing which bills come up for a vote by the full Senate.
Patrick made banning hemp products that get people high a top priority last year, arguing that they pose health risks and the state can't adequately regulate thousands of retailers.
After Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed the sweeping ban Patrick championed, the lieutenant governor made clear he wasn't backing down, even if it cost him his job.
"I'm not going to legalize marijuana in Texas. And if people want to vote me out of office for that, so be it," Patrick said at a June 2025 news conference.
For Democrats it was a campaign gift, practically pre-rolled.
"I was a little bit surprised," said state Rep. Vikki Goodwin of Austin, the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor. "It didn't seem like a very good political move when so many people are buying these products. And how is it so different than alcohol?"
Goodwin acknowledged to KUT News that liberalizing cannabis laws hadn't been a major legislative priority for her. But she had a voting record the industry could embrace, opposing Patrick's proposed ban and supporting legislation to expand medical cannabis and reduce penalties for marijuana possession.
"She's an ally to the industry as a whole," said Sarah Todd, executive director of the Texas Cannabis Policy Center.
Goodwin spent much of the past year meeting with hemp business owners, learning about the industry and promising to support regulations similar to those governing alcohol, including age restrictions and rules on packaging and marketing.
Some of those requirements were already adopted by state health regulators. But Goodwin said the restrictions went too far. Rules adopted in March effectively prohibited the sale of most smokable hemp products and increased business fees by up to 4,000%.
'This shouldn't be a red or blue issue'
Business owners say the rules are destroying their livelihoods and limiting choices for consumers.
"I've closed down two stores," said Estella Castro, owner of Austinite Cannabis Co. "We've just held on to our flagship, which is here in East Austin."
"The elections are going to be our last hope to see if we either stay open or we don't," Castro said during a Goodwin campaign event she hosted this month at her remaining store. "I don't even want to play in the game underneath [Patrick's] rules."
The toll of the restrictions and Patrick's promise to keep fighting for a total THC ban are energizing support for Goodwin, even among people who don't ordinarily vote Democratic.
At the CHAMPS smoke shop trade show in Austin this month, Holden Hylander of Sherpa, a company that manufactures hemp-derived THC products, said he's promoting Goodwin's campaign through wholesalers and email marketing.
"I'm typically more of just an independent voter, however I am also somewhat of a single-issue voter this election year, just because there is someone that has our back," Hylander said.
At Haus of Jayne, a hemp shop in Dripping Springs, co-owner Haley Hunt said she grew up in conservative West Texas and didn't typically vote for Democrats.
That's changing this year.
"This election, to me, has really been eye-opening, and honestly a little bit of a struggle to choose, am I going full Democratic ticket?" she said. "I've never done that before, so looks like I am, though. So here we are."
Earlier this month, Hunt and her co-owner, Christy Spanton, hosted a Goodwin campaign stop that included a Q&A with customers on their front porch. About 50 people showed up.
For many customers, the effort to restrict access to hemp is personal.
Carrie Napiorkowski, a Dripping Springs resident who shops at Haus of Jayne, said she deals with chronic pain and uses THC gummies to help her sleep. She identified as a Democrat but didn't see access to cannabis as a partisan matter.
"This shouldn't be a red or blue issue," Napiorkowski said. "It is right now because Dan Patrick made it one. But if he was generally concerned about the health and well-being of individual Texans to be able to make their own mature choices in their health care and relaxation, then he'd leave this one alone."
Down the ballot, Central Texas Democrats are also embracing the issue. Democratic state Rep. Erin Zwiener called for the "full legalization" of cannabis in an interview with KUT News.
In Williamson County, Democrat Chris Jimenez is challenging Republican state Rep. Caroline Harris Davila, who voted for Patrick's THC ban.
"I've seen other veterans turn to THC as opposed to going to other things to help with sleep or other ailments that they have from wartime situations," Jimenez, a Marine Corps veteran, told KUT News. "So when it comes to THC, that's something that I advocate for."
How Abbott's regulations changed the market
Although Patrick has become a lightning rod for criticism, the restrictions that swept popular products such as hemp flower and concentrate off store shelves came from Abbott's administration.
After vetoing Patrick's ban, Abbott called lawmakers back to consider stricter regulations. Lawmakers deadlocked. They couldn't agree on whether to regulate or ban THC.
So the governor issued an executive order that called for the ban on smokable hemp products.
The resulting rule rests on a bit of cannabis chemistry that often surprises even longtime users.
Hemp — a legal term that means cannabis with less than 0.3% Delta-9 THC, the plant's main psychoactive ingredient — can contain high amounts of THCA, a compound that doesn't get people high on its own.
Apply heat, and THCA transforms into Delta-9 THC. Think of popcorn. Heat can "pop" THCA into Delta-9. This one simple trick allowed retailers to legally sell cannabis that produced the same high as marijuana when smoked or vaped.
Texas Health and Human Services Commissioner Stephanie Muth, whom Abbott appointed in January, approved the business regulations that treat THCA like Delta-9, banning the sale of smokable products.
A few months later, a Texas Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for the Department of State Health Services to reinstate broader definitions of THC on a roster of highly restricted drugs known as the Schedule I Controlled Substances list.
The wording appears to encompass THCA, even though the Texas Legislature's 2019 hemp law explicitly exempted hemp and all its derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers and acids from controlled substance restrictions.
The apparent conflict and the state health department's unwillingness to clarify its own rules have left law enforcement agencies across Texas interpreting the rules differently. Consumers may have to guess whether the product they purchased in stores as recently as June is legal or a felony to possess.
Patrick isn't backing down
Patrick's office didn't respond to requests for an interview. But during a June conversation with WFAA in Dallas, Patrick said he wasn't giving up on banning the mind-altering hemp products that remain in Texas stores.
"I'm still focused on the THC issue. We need to get that out, these smoke shops closed," Patrick said. "We're selling heroin in these gas stations. Not the big chain convenience stores. I'm talking about these little mom and pops in all these neighborhoods, so that's a focus."
Lawmakers return to the Capitol in January. Whoever wins the lieutenant governor's race will have a lot of influence over what happens next with cannabis laws in Texas.
Early voting ends Friday. Election Day is Nov. 3.
Copyright 2026 KUT News
