A federal judge has declined to block Texas' ban on most hemp-derived THC products, leaving the ban in force while a lawsuit against it proceeds.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown of Galveston denied an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order on Sunday, finding that the two hemp retailers and the distributor who sued had not sufficiently shown irreparable harm to interstate commerce.
The ruling does not end the case. A request for a preliminary injunction, which allows for fuller briefing and an evidentiary hearing, remains pending before the court.
What is banned, and what is not
State officials banned the products at the end of July. The ban covers synthetically created THC forms, including delta-8, delta-10, THCP and THCA flower.
One category remains legal: delta-9 products containing less than 0.3% THC by dry weight. Delta-9 occurs naturally in cannabis and is not typically synthetically derived, and the 2018 federal farm bill defines hemp by that same 0.3% delta-9 threshold without listing other cannabinoids. It is the most commonly sold THC product in Texas.
The penalties
The banned variants are now classified as Schedule I drugs.
Possession of the prohibited products can be treated as a state jail felony, carrying 180 days to two years in prison and fines of up to $10,000, according to cannabis experts cited by The Texas Tribune.
Cannabis experts also estimate that more than half of the THC products currently on store shelves could be removed if the ban stands.
The lawsuit
Three members of the hemp industry sued last week. The defendants are the Texas Department of State Health Services, Attorney General Ken Paxton, and the Galveston County criminal district attorney and sheriff.
Their argument rests on the 2018 farm bill, which removed hemp from the federal Controlled Substances Act. The suit contends the state's reinstated definitions draw no line between lawful hemp and unlawful marijuana, are preempted by the farm bill's protections for the interstate hemp market, and place an unconstitutional burden on interstate commerce.
Andrea Steel, lead counsel for the hemp industry, said the standard for the motion the judge denied is a demanding one.
"A temporary restraining order is emergency relief, held to one of the toughest standards in federal law," Steel said in a news release. "Being denied one at this stage does not decide our case. We expected a hard fight, and we remain confident in the law."
Steel said the state told the judge the businesses face no concrete, imminent threat of enforcement, and said that raises a question about why the ban was implemented if it is not to be enforced. She also said Texas sits at the crossroads of major national freight routes, and argued the definitions affect hemp shipments passing through the state as well as Texas businesses.
How Texas got here
The ban follows a Texas Supreme Court decision in May that allowed the Department of State Health Services to reclassify hemp-derived THC, other than low-dose delta-9, as a Schedule I drug.
That decision ended a 2021 injunction that had paused enforcement of the classification, which had allowed stores to stock various THC products for roughly five years.
A separate statewide ban on smokeable hemp, such as flower buds and rolled joints, had been set to take effect March 31 but was paused by a court ruling.
Lawmakers are expected to consider further hemp restrictions in the next legislative session.
Source: The Texas Tribune, reporting by Stephen Simpson.
Sources
https://www.texastribune.org/2026/08/10/texas-hemp-thc-ban-federal-court-emergency/
