By Paul Cobler and Alex Nguyen, The Texas Tribune

When news broke Wednesday afternoon of a last-minute push to pass new, stricter regulations for consumable hemp products, the employees at Austin Vape & Smoke sprung into action.

Zaquiri Hensen, a manager at the South Austin store, said he alerted his staff and other stores around the city before beginning to contact his legislators, urging them to reject any strict regulation or ban. Every customer that came into the store for the rest of the day was told to do the same, Hensen said.

“I still watched the House stream just in case because you never know what’s going to happen on the House floor,” Hensen said.

Hensen was finally able to relax around 9 p.m. when Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced in a post on X that the Senate would wrap up t

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