Texas cops can't agree if smokable hemp is legal

After a flurry of administrative rule changes, no government agency KUT News asked could say definitively whether possessing smokable hemp products remains legal across Texas, or whether a few crumbs of concentrate could bring a felony charge.

The state agency that wrote the drug schedule wouldn’t clarify if their rules specifically prohibit THCA, the non-psychoactive substance in hemp flower and concentrate that converts to Delta-9 THC when heated or smoked. The Texas Department of State Health Services told me to ask law enforcement. So I did, and their answers were all over the map.

In this video, I talk about the background behind this situation while sitting at a picnic table in Zilker Park. Then I speak with Austin Police Department Lieutenant Patrick Eastlick, who oversees narcotics enforcement.

At APD, the policy is that any hemp flower or concentrate is legal, as long as that Delta-9 THC concentration is under 0.3%. Other law enforcement agencies gave unclear or conflicting answers.

Here's the story I wrote about this: https://www.kut.org/business/2026-09-15/texas-thca-hemp-flower-concentrate-schedule-i-legal

And here's a shorter story I wrote this week on APD's Delta-8 policy. Under the new policy, possessing a package that says Delta-8 on it, might be enough to get someone arrested. https://www.kut.org/business/2026-09-17/austin-tx-delta-8-package-possession-apd-felony-arrest

The thumbnail photo of ATX Organics' THCA concentrate was taken by KUT's Michael Minasi in August 2025, when those products were still legal to sell in Texas.

Read more of KUT's hemp coverage: https://www.kut.org/tags/hemp

Watch more hemp videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ks7OjLHzGD0&list=PLlr6Vc8tLZ93YU6XcIiOrpMK0dmyRaEJm

00:00 Intro 00:18 How we got here 11:30 Is THCA Legal in Texas? 16:54 What police said 24:37 Interview with APD Lt. Eastlick