Texas medical marijuana industry to push for hemp age restrictions and delta-8 ban
Medical program leaders want a ban on synthetic delta-8 THC, which makes up the bulk of consumable hemp products. Full Story
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Stephen Simpson is the mental health reporter, based in Austin, where he covers behavioral health in schools, treatment in the judicial system, substance abuse and the state mental health system, among other topics. He previously worked in his home state of Arkansas as a politics reporter, where he covered the state's Supreme Court, House of Representatives and correctional system for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Stephen's earliest career experiences include reporting and copy editing at The Jonesboro Sun and The Pine Bluff Commercial. He earned a degree in online and print journalism with a minor in filmmaking from the University of Central Arkansas.
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![Texas Original Director of Cultivation Jason Sanders gives a tour of the business’ facility on Sept. 26, 2024. Texas Original is Texas’ first licensed medical cannabis distributor.]()
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Texas to create its own psychology licensing test amid pushback on national exam
Texas and other states have criticized a decision by the national psychologist licensing board to add another expensive test in order for psychologists to become certified. Full Story
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![Chair John Bielamowicz speaks during a a Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists meeting Thursday, April 11, 2024 in Austin. During the meeting, the state board met with the Association of State & Provincial Psychology Boards to discuss the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology.]()
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With prospects of a THC ban eroded, Texas hemp industry supports age restrictions, more regulation enforcement
Hemp industry leaders say they agree with regulations similar to how the state regulates alcohol. Full Story
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![The Texas Original cannabis farm on Sept. 26, 2024. The red light is an experimental form of growth where the light bleaches the flower of the plant.]()
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Texas is illegally keeping people with disabilities in nursing homes, federal judge rules
A federal judge determined the state illegally institutionalized severely disabled people for decades, often in poorly run facilities. Full Story
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![An employee of the Amistad Nursing and Rehabilitation Center walks with a resident on April 1, 2021.]()
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Some Texans fear a looming THC ban could return them to opioids, illegal options
Texas hemp users stockpile products and consider moving out of state as ban looms, saying the medical marijuana program is currently an untenable alternative. Full Story
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![Wesley Barnes, 55, stands for a portrait at his home in Onalaska, Texas on Sunday, June 15, 2025. Barnes, a Gulf War veteran who has long struggled with pain, tried legal opiates and illegal THC over the years before finding affordable and effective relief in legal hemp flower beginning in 2018.]()
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Texas made sweeping changes to bail and parole, along with increasing penalties for stolen goods
Texas lawmakers approved a sweeping package to overhaul the state’s bail system, a longtime priority of Gov. Greg Abbott’s. Full Story
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![An empty visitation window at the Polunsky Unit in Livingston on Jan. 31, 2024.]()
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Texas clarified when abortions are OK and aligned with RFK Jr. on health this legislative session
Amid a quiet legislative session for health, lawmakers’ priority legislation reinforced the U.S. health secretary’s agenda. Full Story
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![An entire floor of the Texas Department of State Health Services Labortory building in Austin, Texas is dedicated to newborn screening. May 1, 2025.]()
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With Rick Perry’s backing and $50 million from the state, Texas set to become a leader in psychedelics research
Lawmakers have approved funding clinical trials for ibogaine as a treatment for addiction and brain trauma. It comes as Texas contemplates banning THC. Full Story
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![The Rotunda seen from the Capitol Extension in Austin on Aug. 11, 2021.]()
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Texas reined in recreational THC for more medical marijuana this legislative session
Texas passed sweeping changes to cannabis policy, including expanding the medical marijuana program and banning hemp products, while also boosting psychedelics research. Full Story
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![Hemp plants are seen at Caprock Family Farms, Friday, May 23, 2025, in Lubbock.]()
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A bill to air-condition all Texas prisons likely to fail again in the Senate
House Bill 3006 would have required the installation of climate control in state prison by 2032. Full Story
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![Inmates shuffle past new fans in the TDCJ Memorial Unit in Brazoria Co. on July 12, 2017. The prison was called the Darrington Unit until 2023.]()
Credit: Jolie McCullough/The Texas Tribune