This November, Texans will head to the polls with no shortage of issues on their minds. Property taxes, the cost of living, public safety, education and the strength of the state’s economy will all factor into decisions at the ballot box.
Many Texans will also be considering another issue: the future of the state’s legal hemp industry.
Farmers, manufacturers, retailers, employees and consumers across the state all have a stake in what happens next. For them, the issue will not simply be which party a candidate represents. Hemp policy does not fall neatly along party lines. In fact, a March 2025 statewide poll found that 57% of Republican voters favored keeping legal THC hemp products available under regulation, compared with 29% who favored prohibition.
That should matter to both candidates and voters. Lawmakers should recognize that supporting sensible regulation rather than prohibition can be consistent with the views of their own constituents. And voters who care about the future of hemp should look beyond party affiliation and examine where individual candidates actually stand.
The question is direct: Does this candidate support a legal, regulated hemp industry in Texas?
Texas businesses invested heavily in this industry under the legal framework established following the 2018 Farm Bill. They built companies, created tens of thousands of jobs and invested in testing, labeling, compliance and transparency. Now, a $10 billion industry generating an estimated $268 million in annual state sales-tax revenue is in jeopardy of being wiped out.
The consequences extend beyond businesses to consumers, including veterans and seniors who rely on hemp-derived products. When legal sources disappear, consumers usually turn to illicit markets with fewer safeguards. If consumer protection is the goal, policymakers should ask whether eliminating regulated businesses will make Texans safer or leave consumers with fewer protections and more dangerous alternatives.
During a Senate hearing this year, state health officials presented claims about the risks associated with hemp-derived products that, when examined against the state’s own data, painted a misleading picture of the public health impact. Yet those claims continue to shape the debate. Policymakers should base decisions affecting Texas businesses and consumers on an accurate assessment of the evidence, not a distorted portrayal of the risks.
No single issue will determine how every Texan votes. But for those whose personal freedom, businesses, jobs and livelihoods depend on hemp, this election matters. They will vote based on whether candidates support a workable regulatory system that protects consumers while allowing responsible businesses to operate or whether they support policies that could force those businesses to close.
Texas can protect consumers and maintain a legal hemp industry. Those goals are not incompatible. Achieving both requires evidence-based policymaking, clear rules and meaningful enforcement, not broad allegations used to justify eliminating an entire marketplace.
A ban is not a substitute for sound policy.
This November, Texans will look beyond the party label. Where will their candidates stand on hemp? Will they support a legal, regulated industry in Texas, or policies that could wipe it out? Texans whose livelihoods are at stake deserve a clear answer.
