"See how we do things": Austin cannabis shop invites Texas lawmakers wanting to ban THC

Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.

---

Nicole Cosper often sees two types of people walk into the cannabis shop half a mile south of the Texas Capitol where she works.

Some are grateful customers who say products with tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, have improved their sleep and eased aches from old injuries. Others aren’t clients, but critics. Many of them have incorrectly accused the store’s employees of selling something illegal — hemp, a type of cannabis plant with lower THC content than marijuana, was legalized federally in 2018 and in Texas in 2019.

“Shh, don’t tell people five blocks away about what we’re doing here,” Cosper, an employee at Sweet Sensi, would sometimes jokingly reply.

Texas lawmakers, it turns out, were well aware — and the wares the store sells might soon actually be against the law.

The Texas House on Thursday approved Senate Bill 3, which would make it illegal to sell, possess or manufacture consumable hemp products that contain any synthetic cannabinoid, often known as delta-8. Non-intoxicating and non-psychoactive CBD and CBG would remain legal.

The Senate, which passed the legislation in March, now needs to sign off on a handful of changes proposed by the House before sending it to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk. If it becomes law, the ban would go into effect Sept. 1.

Cosper, who said she wasn’t authorized to comment on behalf of the store and was only speaking in a personal capacity, said learning about the location’s potential closure felt like “a punch in the gut.”

“So many people are possibly going to be without work, and all these jobs are going to be lost, businesses are going to close, and we're talking a lot of money and tax revenue that comes to the state of Texas that benefits the state of Texas and Texans in general,” she said.

The hemp industry accounts for about 50,000 jobs in Texas and generates $8 billion in tax revenue each year, according to one estimate.

Greg Autry, a Texas native, is the CEO of Sweet Sensi and several other cannabis companies. He employs more than 40 people. With nearly 30 years of experience, he started his business to help his father, a Vietnam veteran and former baseball player, deal with shoulder pain. Autry said he created a salve that won the Cannabis Cup, an award granted by the pro-cannabis magazine High Times, and is still sold in his store today. It helped his father avoid surgery.

For almost a decade, Autry has been growing the Sweet Sensi brand, but if the ban goes into effect, he plans to turn his business into a bar to preserve his employees’ jobs. He isn’t thrilled about the idea — he believes alcohol is a bigger risk to people’s health than the cannabis products he sells.

Many hemp retailers have said they would close their shops, ship out THC products or pivot to other industries if the ban goes through. Others would stay open and allow themselves to be declared drug dealers while they fight the law in courts.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has made the THC ban one of his top priorities this legislative session, has accused the industry of preying on susceptible minors by setting up stores near schools and marketing products to children. Cosper believes lawmakers just don’t know enough about the sector they’re wanting to shut down.

“It could take 10 minutes for them to walk into our store and see how we do things,” she said.

Patrick, in fact, did visit several cannabis dispensaries in Austin. It only bolstered his resolve: In March, he posted an investigative-style video promoting his case against THC products.

But it doesn’t seem like he visited Sweet Sensi. The local Austin business’ downtown location has a warm, upscale atmosphere and could easily be confused with an old-timey bakery or apothecary.

They offer different kinds of THC-infused products, including beverages and gummies. The shop also sells a variety of merchandise, including T-shirts featuring marijuana leaves and self-aware catchphrases like: “Persecuted by the government, loved by the people.”

Cosper, a short, energetic woman, wore an apron and an orange dress on Thursday. She walked through the store and expertly shared the story behind nearly every product — and often her own experience with them.

A certified nurse and medication aide by training, Cosper started working at Sweet Sensi three years ago, looking to try something new. She liked the idea of entering the hemp industry because she has relied on its products for years to manage lingering pain from a car crash she was involved in. They have allowed her to remain “pain-free and functional and still be a mom and not be addicted to opioids or muscle relaxers.”

Many of her clients, she said, are moms like her.

“They don't want to be zonked out on prescription drugs while they're caring for their kids. They want something that's going to help with inflammation, help them feel better, maybe be a little bit of a mood elevator, and still be able to function as a mother,” she said. “And I think taking that away from Texans is going to be detrimental.”

Some hemp retailers could decide to just sell CBD and CBG products, though the law could make them difficult to access and produce. Those products, Cosper said, also require some chemical processing. She believes they’re not as effective as THC.

“So [lawmakers] are essentially saying, ‘Texans, you can't have something that's healthy, have something that's got a little bit of chemicals in it.’”

That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for more regulation, Cosper said. She agreed with Patrick that cannabis products should not be marketed or made easily available to children. But she believes most retailers are trying to be responsible.

“I wish [lawmakers] would understand that most people who work in this industry are doing the right things and we just want to continue to work,” she said.

For the last three years, Cosper said, working in the hemp industry has put food on her table. It has given her the flexibility to show up to her kids’ school events, serve as a chaperone in some of their school trips and be home with them in the evenings.

“It means everything to me,” she said. “It’s been my lifeline.”

---

First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!