AUSTIN — A new law partially regulating the state’s burgeoning retail consumable-hemp industry goes into effect on Sept. 1, banning THC-laced “vapes” — with their candy flavors and brand names like “Half Baked” — from smoke shops and gas stations across Texas.
The ban, which Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law earlier this summer, comes even as lawmakers wrangle over whether to ban all intoxicating hemp-derived consumable products from being available to Texans of any age and in any form.
That includes not only the vapes, which are popular with younger adults and teenagers, but also smokeable flowers and gummies, drinks and snacks.
Here’s what you need to know about the new law and what could come after it.
A THCA disposable vape is sold at The Glass House, a five location business in N. Texas which counts vapes as about 1/3 of their business, July 3, 2025. A statewide ban on the marketing and sale of disposable vapes containing THC, as well as a large chunk of the e-cigarette market, goes into effect in September.
Tom Fox / Staff Photographer
What is illegal under the new law?
Senate Bill 2024, by Rep. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, outlaws the manufacture and sale of disposable vaporizers — battery-powered devices small enough to fit in a hand that are used to smoke oil — containing any amount of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC the psychoactive compound in cannabis plants such as hemp and marijuana.
It also outlaws the manufacture and sale of any disposable vapes, no matter if they contain THC, that have parts made in a country considered to be adversarial with the U.S., including China, where the vast majority of vaporizers are made. These include nicotine vapes, which many smokers use in place of cigarettes.
Who gets punished under the ban?
Retailers, including gas stations and smoke shops, will be heavily fined if they keep the vapes on their shelves.
The law does not make it illegal to possess these items as long as they are low-dose — that’s under 0.3% THC — and hemp-derived instead of marijuana-based. Hemp products are legal under state and federal agriculture laws. Marijuana products of all kinds are still illegal in Texas.
Which hemp-derived consumables are still legal?
Texans will still be able to purchase low-dose THC gummies, drinks, snacks and smokeable flowers from thousands of retailers across the state. There is still no age limit on who can buy those, although many vendors have 21-and-up policies.
Non-smokeable products containing cannabidiol, or CBD, and similar compounds are also still legal if derived from hemp plants.
Nicotine e-cigarettes are sold at The Glass House, July 3, 2025. The five location business in N. Texas counts vapes as about 1/3 of their business. A statewide ban on the marketing and sale of disposable vapes containing THC, as well as a large chunk of the e-cigarette market, goes into effect in September.
Tom Fox / Staff Photographer
Any more changes coming?
Perhaps. Abbott, a Republican, has ordered lawmakers to figure out how to contain and regulate — without destroying — the hemp-derived consumable retail market, which blossomed into an $8 billion industry in the five years since those products became legal under federal and state farm legislation.
That would mean limits on what days those products could be sold and where they could be made available, how they’re tested, marketed and packaged, who buys them, where stores can be located, and even if open containers are allowed.
Proposals have included limiting the sale of intoxicating hemp products to those only created in Texas, restricting their sale to just specialty stores with expensive licensing fees and similar regulatory structures.
Why are lawmakers still fighting in Austin about THC?
The Texas House has indicated it is willing to regulate the industry by considering legislation limiting those products to consumers age 21 and up. House members have also filed bills that would regulate it close to what Abbott has asked them to consider.
But Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the Republican who presides over the Senate, insists the state should ban all consumable hemp-based products that can be intoxicating and refuses to support anything less.
If the House and Senate can’t agree on a solution that Abbott will accept, only the vape ban will go into place until lawmakers can try again — either in a special session called by Abbott for that purpose or during the next regular session in 2027.
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