Cookies. Cereal bites. Lollipops.
These were just a few of the THC-laced edibles on display Wednesday as Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick held what he billed as a “media briefing, along with end-of-session beverages and snacks.” But the “snacks” in question weren’t for consumption by attendees—they were products he says were bought at Texas smoke shops and would soon be illegal under Senate Bill 3.
Patrick, who has leaned heavily into visual storytelling this session to promote his top legislative priorities, used the event to issue a final warning about what he called a “loophole” in state law that has allowed unregulated THC products to flood the Texas market.
“This is everything you can buy at a smoke shop and a bake shop that will either cause potentially paranoia, schizophrenia, tremendous health issues for you,” Patrick said, holding up a package he said contained 16,000 milligrams of THC. “It can poison you, not just children, but adults.”
Senate Bill 3—which has passed both chambers and is awaiting the governor’s signature—would ban the sale of products containing synthetic and semi-synthetic THC compounds such as Delta-8 and Delta-10. Patrick said the legislation is aimed
squarely at the booming market of THC edibles and vape products that have appeared in over 8,000 retail shops in recent years.
“This is not Dan’s folly” he added. “This is to save an entire generation [from] being hooked on drugs.”
Law enforcement officials from across the state joined Patrick to back the legislation, warning of the real-world dangers they say are tied to the products.
Jeff Bert, chief of police in the city of Tomball and a former Los Angeles Police Department narcotics officer, didn’t mince words.
“This right in front of you is a drug deal. That’s all it is,” Bert said. “And it’s the most insidious kind of drug deal because it isn’t somebody that sneaks off … They’re selling this in gas stations, right next to Snickers and Cheetos.”
Bert emphasized how the current lack of regulation makes it nearly impossible for officers—or consumers—to know what’s actually in the products.
“We are supposed to come to people’s aid and solve problems. And when we can’t test this in a cost-effective way or to understand even what’s in it, we’re at a loss.”
Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne offered a stark example from his jurisdiction.
“The little town of Winnie in Chambers County has more retail stores that are selling THC products than we do fast food, and that’s on the interstate,” he said. “Many of these products … they don’t allow them to be sold in their state. They just ship them to us to poison our children.”
Patrick also used the press conference to rebuke the liberal media for what he called irresponsible coverage.
“There’s a tremendous onslaught of pressure from an $8 billion industry … and they’re trying to poison the story,” he said. “Most of you in this room—no criticism, personally—most of you in this room have bought into a lot of their story … You all have been—you’re part of the problem, quite frankly, because you’re not telling the story.”
He dismissed concerns that adults should be free to use the products. 
“We don’t want adults having this either. What, are you crazy? You want to go home and eat a bag of this tonight, see if you’re here tomorrow?”
Asked whether he expects Gov. Greg Abbott to sign the bill, Patrick said, “I speak with the governor every day about this … I’m not going to speak for the governor. He will do what he’s going to do. I have total confidence in the governor.”
Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis also spoke, offering a grim assessment of what he called the “loophole” that SB 3 seeks to close.
“Senate Bill 3 is all about closing this loophole that is literally swallowing our next generation,” Willis said. “We see the psychotic episodes. We see the suicide attempts. We sit down with parents who are heartbroken and devastated after something has happened with their child.”
Willis put it bluntly: “If it gets you high, it’s not legal hemp. And it certainly doesn’t belong on a shelf next to some Skittles.”
Senate Bill 3 is currently on the governor’s desk. If signed into law, the ban will take effect September 1. Patrick made it clear that he considers this one of the most important bills of the session.
“These are bad actors. These are people who want to kill your kids, and they don’t give a damn,” he said. “So we’ll fight this all the way.”
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