New Texas hemp rules would ban more than half the market

UPDATE: A judge granted a temporary restraining order Friday afternoon allowing the sale of smokable hemp to resume for now. https://www.kut.org/business/2026-04-10/austin-tx-smokeable-hemp-ban-cannabis-temporary-restraining-order-lawsuit-pause

New Texas regulations on hemp that took effect March 31 prohibit the sale of smokable forms of cannabis like flower and extract. But how much of the market did those products really make up?

I spoke with economist Robin Goldstein at University of California Davis where he leads the Cannabis Economics Group.

Story about the hemp lawsuit filed this week: https://www.kut.org/business/2026-04-08/austin-tx-texas-hemp-ban-cannabis-lawsuit-thca-businesses

Interview with Austin Police Lt. Patrick Eastlick: https://youtu.be/91ZgRS4djEs

Interview with Andrea Steel, an attorney involved in the hemp lawsuit: https://youtu.be/S-2GeDcr4pY?si=E-8xHmWKqe5kHweS

Apologies for the editing glitch around 11:09 in the video. I want to have Robin back to talk about the market with the temporary restraining order in place!