[PRESS RELEASE] – AUSTIN, Texas, June 11, 2025 – Texas Republicans are much more likely to oppose than strengthen Senate Invoice 3, the invoice that objectives to prohibit hemp-based merchandise, which is now looking forward to a choice from Gov. Greg Abbott.
A brand new ballot displays that 47% of Texas Republican number one citizens oppose banning hemp, whilst 37% strengthen a ban, and 16% mentioned they don’t know. It additionally displays that 45% oppose banning THC, whilst 35% strengthen a THC ban, and 21% don’t know. Opposition to a ban is even more potent amongst the ones with an active-duty or former army member of their family.
In spite of political claims on the contrary, Texas Republicans and Democrats don’t strengthen banning hemp-derived THC. They would like it regulated, limited to adults and clear of minors. However they don’t need prohibition. Two unbiased, statistically legitimate polls have now proven that bans like S.B. 3 are deeply unpopular, particularly a number of the very citizens who will decide the way forward for Republican management in Texas.
Final week, the Texas Hemp Industry Council (THBC) delivered 5,000 handwritten letters and a petition with greater than 118,000 signatures to Abbott, urging him to veto S.B. 3 and save the 53,000 Texas jobs hooked up to hemp.
“Texans don’t need SB 3,” THBC Govt Director Mark Bordas mentioned. “Texans acknowledge S.B. 3 for what it’s: an assault at the rights and liberties of Texans that can spoil tens of 1000’s of jobs. We respectfully ask the governor to hear veterans, small industry homeowners, Republican number one citizens and others who need him to veto this heavy-handed invoice. We went out of our solution to habits probably the most credible ballot conceivable, wherein the phase of the vote casting inhabitants least more likely to strengthen our reason used to be queried. Even amongst Republican number one citizens, S.B. 3 and its ban are extremely unpopular. This isn’t a Republican or a Democrat factor—it’s about maintaining financial and person freedoms, which all Texans cherish.”
S.B. 3 would power Texans who use hemp-based merchandise to hunt the ones merchandise thru illicit, unsafe black markets. It’ll additionally create havoc and uncertainty for farmers, small industry homeowners and others who’ve faithful years in their careers to protected hemp-based merchandise.
The ballot used to be commissioned by means of THBC and carried out by means of revered Texas Republican pollster Chris Perkins of Ragnar Analysis Companions. It additionally discovered:
- Greater than two-thirds of Republican number one citizens (72%) imagine army veterans will have to be capable of get entry to THC merchandise as a substitute for opioids.
- 53% of Republican number one citizens imagine a ban will create alternatives for drug cartels.
- 55% of Republican number one citizens imagine a ban will building up black marketplace gross sales.
The ballot of Texas Republicans reinforces the message of a broader statewide ballot carried out by means of Baselice & Mates in March: 68% of Texas most probably citizens strengthen prison THC hemp merchandise with strict laws, whilst simply 20% strengthen a ban. Republican citizens desire regulated legality (57%) over prohibition (29%), and strengthen climbs even upper amongst independents (72%) and more youthful citizens (76%), the Baselice ballot discovered. Seniors, too, reject prohibition by means of double-digit margins.
“Those extremely credible polls obviously display the place citizens stand, whilst some teams are pushing false and deceptive narratives to strengthen S.B. 3, hoping that extra Texans would flip to alcohol if hemp-based merchandise had been banned,” Bordas mentioned. “Each month in Texas, just about 90 lives are misplaced to alcohol-related crashes, over 1,000 each and every 12 months. National, alcohol ranks a number of the main preventable reasons of demise. Hemp merchandise, which might be already regulated on the state and federal ranges, be offering [a] well-liked selection that many Texans depend on. Our business additionally continues to strengthen further safeguards, together with banning gross sales to any person underneath 21 and setbacks from colleges. Texans deserve prison possible choices, no longer fear-driven insurance policies that push them towards extra unhealthy components.”
The Ragnar Analysis Companions ballot of 800 most probably Republican number one citizens used to be carried out June 2-4 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 proportion issues.
