The newly passed federal ban on hemp-based products containing THC could have a significant negative effect on the Texas economy, hitting a wide range of Texas industries that rely on hemp in any form, according to leading economists studying the hemp industry.

Language included in the spending legislation that just ended the federal government shutdown would dramatically lower the legal amount of THC – the psychoactive component of cannabis – permitted in hemp-derived products. Advocates, including a bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general , argue this is necessary to close a loophole in the 2018 Federal Farm Bill that has led to the widespread marketing of intoxicating products, including to children.

Notably, the coalition did not include Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton,

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