Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller (R) last week published an op-ed calling on lawmakers to expand the state’s medical Cannabis program and support Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s (R) effort to ban intoxicating hemp products.

While Miller said he supports both industrial hemp and the state’s medical Cannabis program, he compared hemp-derived products with intoxicants like delta-8 THC to the Cannabis products available in adult-use markets around the country, writing “Thanks to loose legal language and generous interpretations of the law, an unregulated market for recreational marijuana has sprung up across Texas.”

“I strongly support hemp as a commercial product. I strongly support medical marijuana and our state’s compassionate use program. In fact, I want to see it expanded to include far more medical conditions than it currently does. Everyone who can benefit from it to help with their legitimate medical condition should have it available to them. I also strongly support robust research into Cannabis so we can best use it as medicine and for a myriad of consumer products.” – Excerpt from the op-ed

Miller noted that while he does not personally support adult-use Cannabis reforms, “it’s up to the legislature.”

“Even if the legislature voted to legalize recreational marijuana tomorrow, that legislation would create a legal market with rules, guardrails, checks, and balances,” he wrote. “What we have now is the wild west.”

Lt. Gov. Patrick said late last year that a sweeping, statewide ban on all THC products — even those legal under federal law — would be a priority in the next legislative session.

Meanwhile, Miller said during an interview last August that he believes lawmakers would approve a comprehensive medical Cannabis reforms package, were one to reach the legislative floor.

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