Resolution on Marijuana and THC Products

WHEREAS, recreational marijuana is currently illegal in Texas, H.R.2 – the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (often referred to as the 2018 Farm Bill) increased the allowed level of THC concentration and allowed for a legal differentiation between hemp and marijuana; and

WHEREAS, since the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill and subsequent passage of a 2019 Texas law known as the Hemp Farming Act that, in the words of the law, was meant to “promote the expansion of this state’s hemp industry to the maximum extent permitted by law…”, the hemp-THC industry has become a multibillion dollar industry in Texas; and

WHEREAS, the 2018 Farm Bill sets limits only on the concentration of what is known as delta-9 THC, allowing for legal gray zones and loopholes to be exploited in which additional, unregulated, isomers of THC, namely delta-8 and delta-10 THC, which are also psychoactive, are put into hemp-THC products; and

WHEREAS, the effects on cannabis users, such as triggering schizophrenia at relatively high rates (up to 30% of cases) in young men, an appreciable decrease in IQ (up to 5.5 point decrease in IQ) for long term users, or decreased motivation, present a threat to the overall social well being of the people of Texas; and

WHEREAS, while we recognize that cannabis may have legitimate medical uses, getting a prescription for medical marijuana should be difficult so as not to provide an easy loophole for recreational use.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we call on our leaders to classify all substances containing THC as illegal with appropriate exceptions for medical purposes.

Bibliography

1. Agriculture Improvement Act, H.R.2, 132 STAT. 4908, 115th Congress (2018). https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/2/text
2. Hemp Farming Act, HB 1325, 86th Regular Legislative Session of Texas (2019). https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/86R/billtext/pdf/HB013251.pdf
3. “New Report Reveals Texas Hemp Market Contributes $10 Billion to State Economy”, Cannabis Business Times (2025) https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/us-states/texas/news/15741185/new-report-reveals-texas-hemp-market-contributes-10-billion-to-state-economy
4. Texas State Law Library, CBD, CHPs, & Delta-8, Delta-8 https://guides.sll.texas.gov/cannabis/cbd#s-lg-box-27577334
5. Texas Tribune, “Delta-8 is legal in Texas for now after Travis County judge blocks state from criminalizing the cannabis extract”, Nov. 8, 2021. https://www.texastribune.org/2021/11/08/delta-8-texas-legal-lawsuit
6. Association between cannabis use disorder and schizophrenia stronger in young males than in females, 4 May 2023. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/psychological-medicine/article/association-between-cannabis-use-disorder-and-schizophrenia-stronger-in-young-males-than-in-females/E1F8F0E09C6541CB8529A326C3641A68
7. Long-Term Cannabis use and cognitive reserves and hippocampus volume in midlife, 8 March 2022. https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp.2021,21060664
8. Non-acute effects of cannabis use on motivation and reward sensitivity in humans: a systematic review, July 2 2018. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6062456