Texas has the Largest Legal Cannabis Market—Will Lawmakers Kill It?

Описание: In this LIVE series filmed during SXSW and Texas Cannabis week, Shaun Salvaje sits down with Cynthia Cabrera—President of the Texas Hemp Business Council and Chief of Strategy Officer at Hometown Hero—to unpack the biggest battle Texas hemp has faced since 2019.

With estimates between $8-12 billion in annual retail sales and 50,000 jobs on the line, Texas has quietly become home to the nation’s largest open, free, and federally legal cannabis market—until now. Republican Senator Charles Perry’s Senate Bill 3 and Senate Bill 1505 threaten to gut the industry in favor of a tightly controlled medical monopoly. During this opening session, we break down what’s really happening in the Lone Star State, how misinformation continues to shape legislation, and why the fight for Texas isn’t over yet.

Cabrera, one of the architects behind the 2021 injunction that kept the hemp market alive, shares critical insights into the regulatory landscape, economic impact, and the industry’s path forward.

📌 Key Moments:

00:06 – Introduction: Why Cynthia Cabrera is one of the most important voices in Texas cannabis

01:40 – SB 3: The science-defying ban that pretends to “carve out” legality
04:19 – 10 hours of testimony, 200+ against the bill—what really happened at the Capitol

07:51 – Texas’ own fiscal note says SB 3 affects “just 10%” of the market—so why pass it?

09:32 – How the medical monopoly is trying to kill hemp—and patients are walking away

12:10 – The myth of regulation: Why TCUP (Texas Compassionate Use Program) wants hemp gone

13:34 – SB 170 vs. SB 1505: One expands access, one protects monopolies

16:36 – The Texas Hemp Business Council's bill: Age-gating, veteran exemptions, and what real regulation looks like

18:16 – A New York banker explains why Texas’ hemp market is the model

22:07 – Follow the money: 70% of hemp licensing fees aren’t going to enforcement

25:10 – Economic impact: $4.1B in retail, $256M in taxes, and half a billion in unemployment payouts

27:20 – Legislators set the rules in 2019. Now they’re pretending it’s unregulated

29:18 – No, kids aren’t buying weed candy—and yes, the market self-regulates

33:04 – The injunction that saved Texas: The 2021 lawsuit and what’s at stake at the Supreme Court

34:57 – How Texas hemp funds public safety efforts—including rape kits and fentanyl response


🎧 Whether you're in the industry, a policymaker, or a curious Texan, this episode lays out what’s really at stake—and why you should care.

📍 The fight now moves to the Texas House. If legislators care about facts, fairness, and Texas jobs, they’ll kill SB 3 and SB 1505. The people are watching.