Texas lawmakers are debating the future of hemp-derived cannabinoids like delta-8 and delta-9 THC, with Senate Bill 5 following the controversial SB 3 from the regular session. Supporters claim public safety is at risk, but opponents say the bill is an attempt to kill a legal, regulated industry.
Cynthia Cabrera, Chief Strategy Officer at Hometown Hero, an Austin-based hemp company known for its support for veterans, argues the proposed ban is misguided and dismissive of the people who rely on these products.
Cabrera joined Hometown Hero in-house in 2022 after years of consulting for the company. She is a founding board member and president of the Texas Hemp Business Council and serves as chair of the Cannabinoids Council for the Hemp Industries Association. Her role spans multiple states, with board positions in Louisiana and Tennessee. She has been working on hemp issues since the 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp at the federal level and says she’s spent the past six years trying to correct the record about what the hemp industry is—and isn’t.
“The 2018 Farm Bill signed by President Donald Trump legalized hemp products,” she says. “Texas legalized and regulated consumable hemp products in 2019.” But despite this, she hears legislators and law enforcement officials claim the industry is unregulated. “It’s not true. And you like to think that people that are making decisions would know something as basic as whether a product is regulated or not.”
According to Cabrera, that misinformation is harmful to real people. She says the Texas Hemp Business Council delivered 8,000 handwritten letters to the governor’s office in opposition to SB 3. “I read thousands of those letters from people in their 60s, 70s, 50s… women who had suffered rape, domestic violence, people who had been in car accidents… and they had finally found a legal product they could use. And all of a sudden, that’s being threatened to be taken away from them.”
On the business side, Cabrera says the numbers speak for themselves: 53,000 jobs, $264 million in sales tax revenue in 2024, and a total economic impact of $8 billion. “This is a vibrant industry,” she says, and its regulation is thorough. “You have to test for cannabinoids. You have to test for microbial. You have to test for filth and mold. You have to list all your ingredients. You have to provide that test to the general public via a QR code.”
SB 3 and now SB 5 propose stricter penalties for hemp than for marijuana, which is still federally illegal. “SB 3 carried stiffer penalties and fines than it did for marijuana,” Cabrera says. She believes Lt. Governor Dan Patrick and Senator Charles Perry are pushing a personal agenda. “They were both there when they legalized hemp products. No one can say they didn’t know these products would be consumed… now they’re pretending it was supposed to be for fiber and concrete.”
Some observers suspect the alcohol lobby is involved. “The beer wholesalers adamantly wanted a ban… while the package stores wanted just drinks. So each of them went after something that would specifically benefit them and did it under the guise of some kind of public safety facade.” Cabrera calls it “regulatory capture through the legislature.”
She also pushes back on the frequent claim that children are at risk. “If your concern is minor access… why not just pass an age gate bill? We floated one in 2021, in 2023, and this past session—and it got zero traction.” She says the real reason is clear: “I think it would have legitimized the industry for him. And that is something [Patrick] did not want. He said, ‘I don’t want anybody in their 50s, 60s or 70s to have this.’ So he’s decided that no one should have these products.”
Some also argue that the products are too strong. Cabrera disagrees. “Everyone is different. I talk to people who take 100mg a day because they’ve got PTSD or trauma. When you limit how someone gets the serving they need, you increase the cost.” One veteran told her, “It’s expensive for a lot of veterans.”
If SB 5 passes, it would devastate the entire hemp supply chain. “Those farmers are not surviving by making hemp houses. They’re surviving by selling biomass at a good price to processors and manufacturers.” She says it’s disingenuous to pretend they’ll be fine. “It’s a complete fallacy… That’s a lie.”
Cabrera wants more regulation, not less. “We fully support additional regulation. Final product testing. Age gating. Child-resistant packaging.” But a ban, she says, is indefensible. “Texas touts itself as a business-friendly state. A business-friendly state does not pick winners and losers.”