June 24, 2025

SB3 Vetoed—But They'll Try Again in July. Be Ready.

Home > Blog > SB3 Vetoed—But They'll Try Again in July. Be Ready.

On Sunday, June 22, 2025, Governor Greg Abbott vetoed SB3, temporarily saving hemp-derived THC along with thousands of jobs in the state of Texas. Though this last-minute move is critical in our fight to protect access to federally legal THC products, the fight is not over yet.

The Texas Legislature will move into a Special Session starting July 21, 2025.

So, what does that mean for legal hemp-derived THC in Texas? Read on as we fill you in on the details and what you can do to help.

What was SB3?

If you've been following us for these last few months, you'd know that SB3 was essentially the doomsday bill for the Texas hemp industry. Authored primarily by Texas State Senator Charles Perry and pushed as a major priority by Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, SB3 would have criminalized the sale and possession of federally legal hemp-derived THC products, as de facto, CBD and CBG products, due to the unrealistic testing standards it proposed.

SB3 first passed in the Texas Senate and then in the Texas House, making its way to Governor Greg Abbott's desk. In Texas, when a bill comes to the governor's desk, one of three things can happen:

The governor signs the bill into law
The governor doesn't sign the bill, yet it still becomes a law
The governor vetoes the bill

For weeks, with no concrete answer from the governor on which side he stood on the issue, it felt like anything could happen, for better or worse.

But thanks to the efforts led by our own Cynthia Cabrera, the Texas Hemp Business Council, and numerous Texans, both consumers and industry stakeholders, a coordinated advocacy effort was launched to get the governor to veto this harmful bill.

At 11:22 p.m. on Sunday, June 22, 2025 (just 38 minutes before the deadline), Governor Greg Abbott did the right thing and vetoed SB3.

Why Did Greg Abbott Veto SB3?

The veto proclamation and Abbott's reasoning are readily accessible to the public, and you can read in more detail exactly why he chose to veto SB3, but here are the main (paraphrased) highlights.

Reasons for Abbot's Veto of SB3

To ensure safety, Texas must strongly regulate (not ban) hemp immediately
SB3 would never go into effect because of valid constitutional challenges
Due to litigation challenging the bill, enforcement of SB3 would be prohibited for years, leaving many key "cases of abuse unaddressed."
A similar bill passed in Arkansas in 2023; it was challenged, and the law sat dormant for nearly two years
SB3 criminalizes what Congress legalized (via the 2018 Farm Bill) and puts state law and federal law on a "collision course"
SB3 would invite potential criminal entrapment of farmers as well as make felons of other innocent Texans like "pharmacists stocking health supplements, veterans treating PTSD, and parents caring for epileptic children."
SB3 could also result in an "unconstitutional taking of private property."

So, Abbott vetoed SB3 because the bill wouldn't do much to address any public safety concerns while opening up a whole can of worms, including a lawsuit, turning innocent people into felons, and constitutional crises.

Abbot's Proposed Alternative

He also proposed several regulations, including officially banning the sale of THC products to anyone under 21 (which we've been advocating for years), requiring child-proof packaging (which we have), and also banning the sale of hemp-derived THC products in Texas on Sundays, a regulatory framework similar to that of alcohol.

Therefore, he is calling for a Special Session starting on July 21, 2025, to push for these changes. However, everything is still on the line, as Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick will most likely do everything in his power to ban hemp-derived THC after this embarrassing defeat and, if not that, unreasonable regulations (just to be clear, we fully support reasonable regulations such as prohibiting the sale of THC products to people under 21) put in place that would otherwise strangle the hemp industry.

We Won the Battle- But the Fight is Not Over

SB3 was defeated—but only barely. And its backers are coming harder in July. If we stay silent, we risk losing safe, legal access to hemp-derived THC—and the jobs, businesses, and freedoms that come with it.

Now is the time to show up, speak out, and stand together. Lawmakers need to hear from real Texans, not just special interests willing to throw all of us under the bus to fill their pockets. Our future depends on it.

So is hemp-derived THC still legal in Texas?

Yes, hemp-derived THC is still legal. Gregg Abbot's veto of SB3 means that the ban on hemp-derived THC will not go into effect.

Will hemp-derived THC stay legal?

It depends on the events of the July Legislative Session. There will definitely be changes to how hemp-derived THC is sold in Texas as some lawmakers push for more common-sense regulation, and others for an outright ban.