Tag: texas

Texas Hemp THC Ban and Medical Marijuana Expansion Set to Become Law on Monday

With the deadline for gubernatorial action falling on Sunday, June 22, both bills are now expected to become law without Abbott’s signature unless he issues a rare weekend veto.

If no veto is delivered by the end of Sunday, the measures will automatically take effect. House Bill 46 would significantly broaden the state’s limited compassionate use program by adding eligibility for patients with chronic pain, terminal illness, and traumatic brain injuries. It would also expand the number of licensed dispensaries from three to fifteen and legalize new product forms, such as patches and inhalers.

Senate Bill 3 would prohibit nearly all hemp-derived THC products—including delta-8, delta-10, and THCO—when intended for ingestion, inhalation, or topical use. Only trace THC amounts would be allowed in non-intoxicating products like CBD. If enacted, the ban would deal a major blow to Texas’ multibillion-dollar hemp THC industry. The restrictions would take effect September 1.

Despite both bills passing with strong bipartisan support, Abbott said earlier this week that he was still undecided on the hemp ban. With time running out, stakeholders are bracing for the likelihood that both measures will quietly become law on Monday, June 23.

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New video footage blows up the ‘self-defense’ lie in Austin Metcalf’s brutal murder…

It was supposed to be an ordinary high school track meet in Frisco, Texas. Kids stretching, coaches meandering around, and parents huddled under tents waiting for the rain to pass. But then, in the blink of an eye, it turned into a bloody murder scene. All because a 17-year-old black kid named Karmelo Anthony brought a deadly weapon to a sports event and used it to stab 17-year-old Austin Metcalf to death.

You’d think that would be a clear-cut tragedy, right? Well, not if you’re a left-winger in America. The second this story broke, the usual race hustlers and propaganda media swooped in to twist Karmelo Anthony into their latest civil rights martyr. They tried to turn this vicious teen thug into the next Rosa Parks. Their version was a noble black teen, unfairly harassed by a racist white kid for daring to sit under the “wrong” tent, who was forced to defend himself from bigoted aggression.

It was a typical, ready-made narrative: brave black Karmelo refused to give up his seat, and evil white Austin got what he deserved. They spread it far and wide. Donations poured in by the hundreds of thousands. The mainstream press all but sainted the little thug who brought a deadly weapon to a school track meet. Who does that? Not an innocent victim. Not some misunderstood hero. A menace to society does that.

But now, right on cue, that carefully crafted defense story is falling apart at the seams, all thanks to chilling new surveillance footage that the Daily Mail got their hands on. The exclusive, unreleased video shows exactly what happened in the moments before Austin Metcalf was brutally murdered, and now we know there was no threat to his personal safety. No chaos. No racist mob forcing Karmelo to “stand his ground.” The video shows it was a calm scene until Anthony committed murder.

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“What in the World Would Justify Doing This?”: A Texas Vet and Hemp-Business Owner on the Looming THC Ban

By Sunday, Texans will know whether the hemp-derived THC products that have been legal in the state since 2019 will be banned as of September 1. During the Eighty-Ninth Legislature, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 3, which would end a $5.5 billion industry and which now sits on Governor Greg Abbott’s desk. Sunday is the deadline for him to either veto the bill—breaking with Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who made SB 3 a priority during the session and pushed it through both chambers with zeal—or allow it to become law. 

Lukas Gilkey, an Austin-based U.S. Coast Guard veteran, cofounded the cannabis company Hometown Hero, which has been producing hemp-derived THC products since 2019, and has emerged as one of the most outspoken opponents of the ban. The 44-year-old has gone viral for his social media posts responding to Patrick and defending the industry. With just days to go before Abbott determines the fate of the industry, we asked him to explain his position and make his pitch to the governor for why weed is good for Texas.  

Texas Monthly: So there’s an argument that legalization of these products in 2019 was kind of an accident: The Legislature legalized hemp, mirroring language that appeared in the federal farm bill the previous year, and in the process allowed the proliferation of certain derivatives that it did not consider. And so the argument goes that what it has done this session is just correcting an oversight. Does that hold water for you? 

Lukas Gilkey: Knowingly or unknowingly, they legalized these products, and subsequently a fully legal industry was created from that decision. This industry has over four billion dollars in retail sales in Texas. It’s created over 53,000 jobs, over eight thousand small businesses. If they wanted to correct it, it should have been done much sooner, rather than letting so many Texans enter this industry under the assumption it was legal and the politicians were okay with it. They allowed this thing to grow and then changed their mind six years later when they could have done it in 2021. Why did they not? 

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Texas medical marijuana companies spent big on Republican lobbyists to push THC ban

Gov. Greg Abbott has a choice when it comes to banning hemp-derived delta-8 and delta-9 THC products: listen to hundreds of thousands of Texans who enjoy them or a handful of powerful Republican lobbyists working for marijuana investors.

Abbott is in the crossfire of a cannabis civil war. Medical marijuana and retail hemp companies are fighting over who can legally get people high. The standoff is typical Texas politics, with the medical marijuana companies hiring former aides to Abbott and Lt. Gov Dan Patrick to lobby for them, and the hemp industry relying on public pressure.

The Texas Legislature authorized medical marijuana in 2017 for a tiny number of patients. Three medical cannabis companies have spent millions complying with the Texas Compassionate Use Program to legally sell products with THC, the ingredient in marijuana that makes you high. They expected exclusivity. Since then, lawmakers have steadily expanded TCUP to treat more conditions, adding people with chronic pain this year.

In 2021, cannabis-focused venture capital firm AFI Capital Partners led a $21 million Series B investment in Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation. The company supplied 77% of the medical cannabis consumed in 2022, the latest full-year data available in an annual Texas Department of Public Safety TCUP analysis.

The investment had horrible timing. In 2019, federal and state lawmakers legalized hemp, a type of cannabis with low levels of THC. Hemp entrepreneurs figured out how to concentrate the THC, and today, the hemp industry primarily sells edibles containing enough THC to get you stoned.

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Why Is Texas Supporting Psychedelics Research While Criminalizing Cannabis?

Texas just announced it will invest $50 million into studying ibogaine, a powerful psychedelic drug that remains illegal at the federal level. The goal? To develop it into a potential Food and Drug Administration-approved treatment for conditions like opioid use disorder, PTSD and depression; especially among veterans.

On the surface, this might sound like a bold and progressive move. But here’s the irony: at the very same time, Texas continues to criminalize cannabis and might soon even outlaw hemp-derived THC products.

Let’s break this down. Cannabis, a plant with centuries of use, decades of medical data and broad public support remains illegal for adult use in Texas. Despite overwhelming national support for legalization—a staggering 88 percent of Americans now back medical or recreational cannabis use)—the state has chosen to double down on prohibition, with lawmakers sending Gov. Greg Abbott (R) a bill that would outlaw consumable hemp products with any traces of THC. He has until Sunday to decide whether to allow that ban to take effect.

Even worse, prohibition isn’t stopping anything. The black market is thriving in Texas. Cartels and illicit operators flood the state with unregulated, untested cannabis. No taxes are collected, no consumer protections exist and legal hemp retailers are now being threatened. It is a misguided public safety argument deluded by a lack of facts and science, political conservatism, contradictory business objectives and outdated stigmas.

Meanwhile, ibogaine, a hallucinogenic alkaloid that can induce intense psychedelic experiences, is now the subject of a $50 million state-funded research push. The same lawmakers who claim cannabis is too dangerous and not well studied are throwing their support behind a compound with far less research and much more uncertainty with the intent of studying it.

This isn’t a critique of psychedelic medicine. Ibogaine may very well hold incredible therapeutic value. But if Texas is willing to support cutting-edge, controversial treatments for serious mental health and addiction issues, why not start with widely available data and access to cannabis? Cannabis has already been shown to help with chronic pain, anxiety, sleep, seizures and opioid dependency.

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75,000 pounds of THC products seized in DFW raids as Texas Gov. Abbott weighs statewide ban

Police raided locations across DFW on Tuesday in a year-long investigation into THC sales. 

The Allen Police Department, with help from the DEA, seized products at three warehouses in Dallas, while other agencies raided the owners’ homes in Carrollton, Colleyville, and Plano.

Allen’s police chief took the CBS News Texas crew inside one of the warehouses as officers pulled products off the shelves. 

According to early estimates from Allen PD, investigators seized over 75,000 pounds of THC products and $7 million worth of cash and assets in Tuesday’s raids.   

Chief Steve Dye said the warehouse raids are the product of an investigation that began more than a year ago with undercover purchases at shops in Allen. The I-Team documented how the Allen Police Department’s narcotics unit bought and tested the items ahead of raids at nine stores last August. Investigators said the illegal products found in Allen are being supplied by the warehouses in Dallas. 

“You don’t have to go to your drug dealer anymore to buy drugs,” said Dye. “You can go to a vape shop on any corner.” 

He believes the products found on store shelves are more dangerous than illegal drugs because, Dye said, the false sense of safety has led to an explosion in use.

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Texas AG Ken Paxton Announces Sprawling Voter Fraud Investigation

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Tuesday that his office had opened investigations into 33 potential noncitizens who allegedly voted in the 2024 General Election. The announcement was made after Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson referred the cases to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG).

“Noncitizens must not be allowed to influence American elections, and I will use the full weight of my office to investigate all voter fraud,” Attorney General Paxton said in a statement.

“In order to be able to trust the integrity of our elections, the results must be determined by our own citizens—not foreign nationals breaking the law to illegally vote. These potential instances of unlawful voting will be thoroughly investigated, and I will continue to stand with President Trump in fighting to ensure that our state’s elections are safe and secure.”

The referral from Secretary Nelson comes after Texas gained access to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service’s SAVE Database. State officials were able to access the database after President Trump signed an executive order that directed the Department of Homeland Security to grant all states access to the database at no cost.

Tuesday’s announcement comes just over a month after Paxton’s office announce indictments of six people in connection with an illegal ballot harvesting scheme in Frio County.

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Federal Employee Charged With Capital Murder For Slipping Abortion Pills Into Girlfriend’s Coffee

A 38-year-old Texas resident and federal employee was arrested and charged for killing his preborn child by feeding his girlfriend abortion-inducing drugs without her knowledge.

The Austin-American Statesman reported that Justin Anthony Banta was arrested June 6 and charged with capital murder and evidence tampering. In September 2024, he allegedly snuck abortion pills into his girlfriend’s drink at a coffee shop at about six weeks of pregnancy after she rebuffed his offer to buy “Plan C” for her, saying she wanted the baby.

The girlfriend, who remains anonymous, told police that she began experiencing severe fatigue and bleeding the next day, requiring an emergency room visit, and ultimately lost her baby on October 19.

Police confiscated Banta’s phone during the course of the investigation, accusing him of tampering with it remotely to delete evidence, allegedly using his skills as an IT staffer for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

“Sheriff Authier expressed his gratitude to the owners and staff of the coffee shop … for their full cooperation, along with the efforts of Parker County Sheriff’s Office investigators, the Texas Rangers, Benbrook Police, Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Digital Forensic and Technical Services, the U.S. Secret Service, the Regional Organized Crime Information Center (ROCIC) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for their support and resources throughout this extensive investigation,” the Parker County Sheriff’s Office said.

In Texas, capital murder is punishable at a minimum of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, though it is possible prosecutors could seek the death penalty.

Despite the abortion lobby’s framing of abortion as a matter of “choice,” it has long turned a blind eye to abortion coercion.

Live Action’s “Aiding Abusers” series draws on news reports, eyewitness testimony, and undercover video to expose Planned Parenthood employees’ willingness to offer abortions to girls as young as 12 without reporting signs of statutory or forcible rape to law enforcement. This enables the men who brought the girls in for appointments to bring them home and continue abusing them.

In 2023, the pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute released a study that interviewed 1,000 American women and found that 61 percent of women who undergo abortions do so due to pressure from “male partners, family members, other persons, financial concerns, and other circumstances.”

“Forcing a woman to have an abortion, including a minor, is illegal in all 50 states of the United States of America,” according to the Justice Foundation’s Center Against Forced Abortions, which offers a variety of information resources to help those who are being pressured into killing their babies.

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Texas Capitol Evacuated After ‘Credible’ Threat Against Politicians Attending ‘No Kings’ Protest Following Assassin’s Deadly Attack on Minnesota Lawmakers

The Texas State Capitol and its grounds were evacuated on Saturday at approximately 1 p.m. local time after the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) identified a “credible threat” targeting state lawmakers planning to attend the “No Kings” protest against President Donald Trump later that day.

The protest was scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. at the Texas Capitol as part of nationwide demonstrations.

DPS said in a statement:

 “Earlier today, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Capitol Region identified a credible threat toward state lawmakers planning to attend a protest later today, Saturday, June 14, 2025, at the Texas State Capitol Complex. Out of an abundance of caution, the Capitol and Capitol Grounds were evacuated around 1 p.m. and both remain temporarily closed. DPS continues working with our law enforcement partners to address the threat. As this investigation is ongoing, no additional information is available.”

“DPS has a duty to protect the people and property of Texas and is continuously monitoring events occurring today and their impact on public safety across the state. DPS will collaborate with all local, state and federal law enforcement partners to ensure the safety of our citizens and state property, as well as to protect individuals exercising their constitutional rights to assemble and free speech. As with any incident response, the department adjusts its operations, including personnel and resources, as needed to address potential and emerging threats.”

Law enforcement has not publicly commented about the exact nature of the threat, or who made it.

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Fatal Austin Metcalf stabbing caught on surveillance tape — but Texas school district won’t publicly release video

Amid an ongoing investigation over the fatal stabbing of high school student Austin Metcalf at a Frisco, Texas, track meet, the school district announced it has surveillance footage of the stabbing.

The Frisco Independent School District confirmed to Fox News Digital that it possesses surveillance footage of the April 2 incident at Kuykendall Stadium but will not be publicly releasing the video.

The fatal altercation between 17-year-old Metcalf of Memorial High School and allegedly 17-year-old Karmelo Anthony, a student at Frisco Centennial High School, unfolded during a rain delay on April 2 at the district track and field championship.

Anthony is facing first-degree murder charges.

Authorities say that Anthony fatally stabbed Metcalf in the chest. Though the two students reportedly had no prior relationship, a brief altercation escalated quickly. 

An arrest report obtained by Fox News sheds new light on the pre-stabbing clash after Metcalf reportedly told Anthony that he needed to move out of the Memorial team’s tent, a witness told Frisco police.

The report noted that Anthony “grabbed his bag, opened it and reached inside it” and said, “Touch me and see what happens.”

“Austin stood up and pushed the male to get him out of the tent,” the arrest report said.

The witness told police that Anthony then “reached into his bag and the male took a knife out of the bag and stabbed Austin,” per the report.

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