💸 The Tape

Texas is slowly—but surely—expanding its Compassionate Use Program, and this time regulators are adding some fresh detail to how doctors and patients can participate.

The Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) has officially published draft rules in the Texas Register that would allow physicians to propose new qualifying conditions for medical cannabis treatment. Doctors would submit requests to the Department of State Health Services, which would forward them to the Department of Public Safety (DPS) for eventual review by lawmakers. In other words: physicians get to make recommendations, but Austin still holds the final gavel.

The proposed rules also set standards for pulmonary inhalation devices—yes, vaping is getting the regulatory blessing (and some guardrails) as a delivery method under the program. The idea is to ensure patients have access to safe, approved devices without wandering into a grey-market free-for-all.

These rules are out for a 31-day public comment period, with finalization expected by October 1, 2025.

Meanwhile, DPS is tackling the other side of the equation: supply. Texas currently has just three licensed dispensaries serving the entire state (you read that right), but the new law will expand that number to 15. Nine of those coveted licenses will be awarded on December 1, 2025, drawn from the 139 applicants who filed back in 2023. The remaining three will be handed out in a second round, with results announced in April 2026.

Applicants who missed the first window—or want to tweak their paperwork—have until September 15 to get in line.

As a reminder, the governor’s signature on the expansion bill earlier this year already added new qualifying conditions including chronic pain, Crohn’s disease, traumatic brain injury, and end-of-life palliative care. That change was automatic under the law, so it didn’t require further rulemaking.

Still, regulators have more housekeeping to do. Future DPS rules will cover security requirements for satellite dispensary locations, timelines for license compliance, and even penalties for companies that sit on their licenses without actually dispensing cannabis.

The takeaway? Texas isn’t racing toward a California-style green rush, but the state is clearly laying track for broader access. With expanded conditions, more dispensaries, and official vape-device standards, patients could see a program that’s bigger, more accessible—and maybe even a little more Texan in scale.

📈 Dog Walkers

DOJ Cleans Out The Register

What’s Going On Here: The Department of Justice (DOJ) is swinging the regulatory axe, announcing it will withdraw 16 proposed rules already published in the Federal Register and 38 additional actions that never advanced. This move follows President Trump’s January 31 executive order, “Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation,” which mandates that the overall cost of new regulations be “significantly less than zero” and that each new rule be offset by the repeal of at least ten existing rules.

Among the DEA casualties: proposals on telepharmacy practice, controlled substance disposal, exempted prescription products, analytical labs, hemp regulation, and even a proposed expansion of marijuana and cannabidiol research. The Bureau of Prisons also scrapped initiatives on compassionate release, inmate financial responsibility, and infectious disease testing, while the ATF shelved proposals to redefine certain firearms classifications.

Attorney General Pamela Bondi signed the notice on September 8, stating the withdrawals reflect current agency priorities.

Key takeaway: The rollback does not affect the separate, ongoing process to reschedule marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). That effort—still alive—could ultimately reshape cannabis’s legal and commercial landscape, even as other reforms are swept away in the deregulatory tide.

Illicit Vape Gets Hit Big

What’s Going On Here: The Department of Justice (DOJ) rolled out a high-profile crackdown last week, seizing 600,000 illegal vaping products during raids across six states. The joint operation, led by the ATF and FDA, targeted five distributors and nine retailers accused of selling flavored vapes, THC vapes, and kratom-derived compounds such as 7-OH, which has opioid-like effects.

Attorney General Pam Bondi and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared in Bensenville, Illinois to highlight the largest bust. Bondi blasted “Chinese companies making millions off these products” while Kennedy warned packaging was deliberately designed to lure young users.

The enforcement wave follows the Supreme Court’s April ruling upholding the flavored vape ban, and Bondi directed ATF to move after Kennedy flagged Chinese shipments as a health priority.

The unusual presence of two Cabinet secretaries at the raid underscored its political weight. It also came just days after the administration floated deploying the National Guard to Chicago, a move opposed by Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson. While Trump has called Chicago “the worst and most dangerous city in the world,” local crime stats tell a different story: homicides down 31% and shootings down 37.4% year-over-year.

🗞️ The News

📺 YouTube

What Governor Greg Abbott's Executive Order Means for Hemp & Cannabis I TTB Powered by Dutchie

What we will cover:

✅ Texas just dropped an executive order on hemp that could flip the industry on its head. On paper, it looks like regulation. In reality, it could mean the end of THCA flower in Texas, a handoff of distribution power to liquor stores, and another example of cannabis operators getting the short end of the stick.

The TDR Trade to Black podcast with host Shadd Dales and co-host Anthony Varrell is back to break it all down.

Plus, Michael Bronstein, President of the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp, who’s been in the trenches on policy and knows exactly what this means will join us. Together, we’ll unpack what Governor Abbott’s executive order does to the Texas Compassionate Use Program (TCUP), how it impacts hemp shops, and what the fallout could look like for cannabis companies that are still dealing with 280E, credit card restrictions, and heavy testing requirements.

From potential lawsuits to the fingerprints of big alcohol, what’s happening in Texas is way bigger than one state. This executive order could be the playbook for how hemp and cannabis get carved up across the country — who gets a seat at the table, and who gets left outside. The small shops, the hemp players, the cannabis operators grinding under 280E — everyone’s got skin in this. And Texas just sent a pretty loud signal.