Texas bans smokable hemp and non-delta-9 cannabinoids starting July 31, but leaves THC beverages untouched, while South Dakota's proposed beverage ban dies and Kansas lawmakers turn new attention to the category.
GREAT PLAINS — July 24, 2026 — Texas hemp retailers face a sweeping ban on smokable products and several intoxicating cannabinoids starting July 31, but hemp-derived THC beverages will remain legal to sell under rules enforced separately by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, according to state policy tracking and local news reporting this week.
The new rules, tied to a gubernatorial executive order and TABC emergency rulemaking, bar the sale of smokable hemp flower and products containing delta-8 THC, delta-10 THC, and THCP, none of which will qualify as lawful hemp under the state's controlled-substances definitions after July 31. Edibles, gummies, and beverages containing no more than 0.3% delta-9 THC by dry weight remain legal, according to the Dallas Observer and Texas Policy Research. A Travis County judge has allowed hemp shops to continue selling smokable products through July 27, a brief stay ahead of the deadline, ABC13 reported. The Texas Hemp Business Council said it does not plan to pursue further legal action against the state over the delta-8 restrictions.
Because THC beverages fall under TABC's separate regulatory track rather than the broader hemp-product rules being tightened this month, compliant hemp-derived THC drinks are not swept up in the July 31 changes and remain legal to sell in Texas.
Elsewhere in the region, South Dakota's SB 61 — which would have banned hemp-derived THC beverages containing more than 0.4mg of any THC isomer per container, one of the strictest caps considered anywhere in the country — is dead, keeping South Dakota's beverage market open for now, according to state hemp-policy tracking.
In Kansas, recent coverage indicates lawmakers are paying closer attention to hemp beverages after the category largely avoided legislative scrutiny in the state until now. Kansas has no state medical or recreational marijuana program, leaving hemp-derived THC beverages there governed solely by the federal 2018 Farm Bill's hemp definition, with no state-specific beverage rule yet in place.
No significant hemp beverage regulatory developments surfaced this week in Oklahoma, Nebraska, or North Dakota.
Texas's TABC rules take effect July 31, days after this reporting window closes, and will be worth confirming directly to verify the beverage carve-out holds in practice. Kansas, with newly heightened legislative attention and no existing state framework, is the state in the region most likely to see a hemp beverage bill introduced in the near term. The entire region also remains subject to the federal government's planned November 12, 2026 cap on total THC at 0.4mg per container, which would override current state frameworks in Texas, South Dakota, Kansas, and elsewhere if implemented as written.
Forma works embedded on hemp and THC beverage formulation and commercial scale-up, from compliant dosing and label claims through co-packer qualification. This wire is a byproduct of the same regulatory tracking that informs that work.
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