CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Local business owners in the THC/hemp industry are breathing a sigh of relief following a late-night veto of Senate Bill 3.
SB 3 was pushed heavily by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and, if passed, would’ve enacted a statewide ban on all THC/hemp products sold in Texas. Patrick first proposed SB 3 in December, calling unregulated THC products “life-threatening” and accusing retailers of exploiting legal loopholes.
In a proclamation of the veto, Gov. Greg Abbott wrote, “If I were [to] allow Senate Bill 3 to become law, its enforcement would be enjoyed for years, leaving existing abuses unaddressed.” He continued, “Texas cannot afford to wait.”
Throughout the legislative session, @GregAbbott_TX remained totally silent on Senate Bill 3, the bill that would have banned dangerous THC products in Texas. His late-night veto, on an issue supported by 105 of 108 Republicans in the legislature, strongly backed by law…
— Office of the Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick (@LtGovTX) June 23, 2025
Dallas Robbins, who owns High Tides alongside his wife, said he was “devastated” when SB 3 passed the House. When KRIS 6 returned to Robbins’ establishment on Monday, he was in much higher spirits.
“It’s such a relief,” Robbins told KRIS 6. “It’s me and my wife’s business, and we have our life investment in this, and to hear that we can continue operating our legal business was a lot.”
“There’s a large portion of the population that doesn’t want some of the other mainstream-type pharmaceuticals and other things, so just access alone,” Robbins continued. “I’m very thankful that even this process has opened a lot of people’s eyes to what it is that’s out there—that there is safeness in it. You know, it’s a great alternative to some of these other things.”
Much of Robbins’ inventory is produced locally by Fresh Grown TX. Owner and operator Jake Garry, also a member of the Texas Hemp Coalition, said that despite working closely with lawmakers and advocating against the ban, even he was surprised by the late-night veto.
Prior to its passage, Garry urged the 89th Legislature to pursue regulations rather than an outright ban.
“The mantra during the entire session was ‘don’t ban, regulate,’” Garry told KRIS 6. Now he feels SB 3 can focus on helping people through “testing through products, ages—basically a lot more, you know, structure around the entire program.”
“We could create that transparency that the industry was looking for and get out the bad actors, which is ultimately why they wanted the ban. So the state will still get a win when it comes to regulation and how the industry is portrayed. And then we get to keep our jobs—our livelihood.”
SB 3 is set to be the focus of a special session of the Legislature on July 21.
WATCH OUR PREVIOUS COVERAGE OF SENATE BILL 3:
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