This story originally appeared in The Houston Chronicle September 19, 2025
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/thc-ban-hemp-lobby-abbott-21044930.php

Exclusive: How the hemp industry influenced Greg Abbott and defeated a THC ban in Texas

By Isaac Yu
Staff Writer
Sep 19, 2025

Colton Luther, a 29-year-old from Houston who hosts the cannabis podcast “Puff and Prosper,” isn’t your typical Austin lobbyist. 

But in July, Luther sat across from Gov. Greg Abbott, pitching ideas for how the Republican might regulate the state’s booming hemp industry. 

“He came to us with straight shooter questions on the true infrastructure of the industry,” Luther recalled. “We were able to tell him every single facet on how this gets regulated correctly.”

Luther is a part of an influential circle of hemp business leaders who say they helped push Abbott to veto a proposed ban on THC championed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and shaped his eventual executive order stepping up regulation of their products. 

The group, a mix of industry insiders and newcomers, held behind-the-scenes meetings with Abbott and commissioned several influential polls, including one by Donald Trump’s own pollster, that showed the ban’s unpopularity with GOP voters. At least one member also doled out hefty campaign contributions to the governor and House Speaker Dustin Burrows.

The coordinated activities, reported for the first time by Hearst Newspapers, formed a key part of the broader hemp movement that emerged this year and illustrate how politically influential the nascent industry has become in Texas. Their strategy focused on free enterprise principles and support for veterans, pushing back against hemp’s image as a partisan or liberal issue in a Republican-controlled state.

“I’ve worked on this issue for more than ten years and it’s been a constant struggle among the cannabros, the business types, and the scientists,” said Susan Hays, a lawyer and political strategist. “This year, the industry finally started getting some footing in the legislative process.”

When Patrick, who presides over the state Senate, made it a priority this spring to ban all hemp THC, the industry’s response was somewhat disjointed. Some pushed exceptions only for THC drinks, others wanted to allow only Texas-grown products. 

But in May, when the Texas House passed an all-out ban instead of less stifling regulations, the pressure campaign on Abbott kicked into high gear.

Several conservative radio hosts turned on Patrick, voicing concerns on the air about individual liberty. Luther and others allied with the Texas Hemp Business Council deployed their own media strategies to get the grassroots involved, delivering over 100,000 letters to the governor opposing the ban.

Meanwhile, a dozen cannabis CEOs, many from larger, national chains, formed a new entity, the Hemp Industry & Farmers of America, to begin lobbying in Texas, according to social media posts. 

READ MORE: THC ban dies as Texas lawmakers unable to reach a deal, Dan Patrick says

The group included Bret Worley of MC Nutraceuticals, a Colorado-based company that bills itself as “the largest global supplier of cannabinoids,” and David Charles, who founded Mood, an online cannabis marketplace that touts “100% federally legal THC from small U.S. farms.” Several Texas-centric companies were involved too, including Houston-based manufacturer Bayou City Hemp. 

The circle of executives pooled their resources to commission the poll by Trump pollster Fabrizio Lee in late May, just as the bill was headed to Abbott’s desk. 

The survey of 600 people found 59% of Republican voters wanted hemp to remain legal with strict regulations.

Brian Swensen, the cannabis group’s executive director and a Trump campaign alum, said he believes their poll moved the needle with Republican elected officials. 

“We showed that something to the tune of like 70% of the state either uses or knows somebody who has used a consumable hemp product,” he said.

Swensen’s group also readied a lawsuit to file against the THC ban, laying out all the reasons the group believed the policy was unconstitutional. They pre-filed it in court days before the June 22 deadline for Abbott to take action on the legislation. 

When Abbott ultimately vetoed it, he acknowledged the suit in his statement, saying it showed that the THC ban, known as Senate Bill 3, would face a “lengthy battle that will render it dead on arrival in court.” The statement even made some similar legal points, such as conflicts with federal marijuana law that had kept a similar Arkansas law from going into effect, and potential violations of private property protections by shuttering so many businesses.

A week after the veto, an entity tied to Charles' company Mood, called Management and Governance Consulting, LLC, gave Abbott’s campaign a $100,000 contribution, and in August, another linked entity called Smoking Leaf Holdings shelled out $50,000 to Burrow’s campaign. Charles could not be reached for comment.

TEXAS WEED DICTIONARY: What's the difference between THC, delta-8 and delta-9?

Abbott’s office did not comment on the donation. In a statement, his spokesman Andrew Mahaleris said Abbott “has been clear that an outright ban on hemp raises serious legal concerns” and that “the only way to ensure safety for children while protecting freedom for adults is through responsible regulation.” 

In a statement, Burrows said the House would work in the coming months to "identify methods of oversight and needed prohibitions," noting that “many members still support a full ban.”

The industry celebrated Abbott’s veto, then pivoted to shaping the governor’s call for more regulations into legislation and lobbying Republican lawmakers to get on board in the coming special sessions. 

Through July and August, Abbott met with various members of the industry at least four times, according to his official calendar, obtained through a public records request, and four people who were in attendance. 

Some of those meetings were brokered by John Scott, a longtime Abbott ally whom the governor has tapped for major state positions and is registered as a lobbyist for the entity that made the donation to Abbott. 

Others present at the meetings included Luther, Charles, Brian Dombrowski of Aim High Hemp, a manufacturer based outside of Austin, and John and Cody Fisher, father-and-son owners of CBD Pros, one of the plaintiffs in the June lawsuit. 

Those in attendance said the governor demonstrated a surprising level of knowledge and interest in even the minutiae of industry practices. Abbott asked about the current acreage of hemp crops and the effectiveness of existing lab testing infrastructure, Luther said.

“He grilled me with quite a few questions on testing, the pesticides and toxins, total THC, lot sizes, taxes,” said Jon Bowman, president of the cannabis testing company Bluebonnet Labs who also attended a meeting. “The majority of the conversation was on testing. He made it very clear that he wants all products to be tested."

The governor also made it clear to business owners that he would issue another veto if an all-out ban passed the Legislature during a special session, according to multiple attendees. 

Both special sessions ended without any agreement on new THC regulations, and Abbott has not said whether he will call a third. But earlier this month, he issued an executive order directing a group of state agencies, including the alcohol regulator, to step up enforcement of existing statutes and instate a new 21-and-up age limit. THC is also widely expected to return as an issue in the next legislative session in 2027. 

The hemp industry has largely applauded the executive order, though some are scrambling to adjust business practices and are closely watching the ongoing rulemaking process. 

Luther said he is now focused on ensuring his products and strategy adapt to the shifting regulatory landscape. But the industry has shown that it shouldn’t be underestimated, he said, and more than a few fellow business owners are now toying with runs for political office. 

“Who knows?" he said. "In a few years, I definitely will consider it.”

Bayliss Wagner and Ben Wermund contributed reporting. 

Sep 19, 2025

Isaac Yu
Reporter

Originally from Garland, Texas, Isaac Yu is a politics reporter based in Austin. He previously wrote for the Texas Tribune, Wall Street Journal and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at isaac.yu@hearst.com.