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mCALLEN – Business owners specializing in hemp products in Texas are nervous about the fate of their shops as Senate Bill 3 passed Wednesday, April 16th.
Oscar Guerrero, who owns Motavation Dispensary LLC in McAllen, has led his worries into action by insisting on opposition to the bill to save his store and support his family.
Senate Bill 3 and House Bill 28 prohibit the sale of consumable hemp products containing any amount of cannabinoids, including THC-A and other Delta-9 products.
THC-A is now a legal product that can be purchased in many forms, including flowers, gummies, steam and steam at almost any Texas smoke store.
Supporters of Senate Bill 3 claim that these products can be harmful when they fall into the hands of minors.
Governor Dan Patrick went a step further, claiming that retailers would use farm laws to sell life-threatening, unregulated products.
Guerrero testified at SB 3 hearing on Monday, April 7th, to educate lawmakers about the potential harmful potential for passing these bills to occur.
He explains measures to prevent minor purchases of THC-A products from his business and a rigorous lab that tests his inventory, undergoes to ensure quality and safety. Additionally, he says that products that travel through Motavation Dispensary are sold in child-bearing packaging.
“As a father, I understand how important it is to protect these products from the hands of minors. It’s not just a business policy. It’s a personal commitment. “Senate Bill 3 puts responsible businesses like me at risk. Companies that follow the law, serve our community and operate in integrity.”
According to the Texas Hemp Business Council, the Texas Hemp industry employs 53,000 people and supports over 10,000 businesses.
Additionally, a study by Whitney Economics said restricting access to Texas’ cannabinoid products would have a negative impact of $7.5 billion on the state’s economy.
Guerrero shared the fear that once the legal routes to hemp products become a thing of the past, his customers and countless other THC-A users would take dangerous and unregulated routes to acquire these products.
Strict lab testing for Gallero products ensures that they are free of contaminants such as fertilizers and other dangerous chemicals.
Guerrero can also ensure the safety of his customers in his store, but for those seeking illegally to buy hemp on the streets, that’s another story.
“Unregulated means there is no age checks, no lab reporting, no accountability,” Guerrero said.
When Guerrero doesn’t run a store in McAllen, he cares for two children. He says his family is 100% dependent on putting food on the table to sell these products. Passing these total hemp bans can be harmful to countless small businesses that own families across the state.
In addition to the harsh impact this has on Texas business owners and the economy, many regular users of Delta 9 products will experience detrimental consequences such as the McAllen Resident and the Motavation Dispensary Regular Anthony Garcia.
Garcia, a native of California, was transplanted to Texas and was injured in an occupational accident in 2003. He dragged multiple yards on the truck, causing a disk that burst from the middle to the waist.
He says he has suffered from constant chronic pain over the past 22 years. He says that sometimes they lose their appetite and the ability to sleep and feel comfortable completely, as pain can be very unbearable.
For years he was prescribed painkillers, which he says led to chronic kidney disease.
He says that using Guerrero’s products as an alternative will remove that pain and provide daily functioning and normalcy.
“It helps a lot of different people for a lot of different reasons,” Garcia said.
Currently, as HB 28 is pending on the committee, Garcia, Guerrero and thousands of other Texans are waiting with concern.
