Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) this week emphasized a survey result showing that more than half (55 percent) of Texans want the state to rein its largely unregulated market for hemp-derived THC. At the same time, however, he seemed to ignore the survey’s other findings: that even more Texans want the state to legalize and regulate marijuana for both medical and adult use.
“This is a huge polling number on the issue of banning THC,” Patrick said Tuesday on social media, zeroing in on hemp-derived THC products that are widely available across the state. “Texans see these stores everywhere: in their neighborhoods and especially around schools where children have easy access. People simply don’t want them around.”
“Once the facts are out in the open,” he continued, “there is no doubt these public polling numbers will rise as more Texans demand a ban on these dangerous products.”
Rather than an outright ban on THC, however, the broader results of the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs survey actually show that Texans want regulation of the psychoactive cannabinoid.
The polling found that nearly 4 in 5 (79 percent) support legalizing the sale and use of medical marijuana with a doctor’s recommendation, while more than 3 in 5 (62 percent) support legalizing and regulating an adult-use cannabis market.
Almost 7 in 10 (69 percent), meanwhile, said they think the state should decriminalize marijuana for personal use.
There is bipartisan support in the survey for each of the reforms.
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