Texas hemp businesses are making hard choices this fall after state health officials tightened the rules twice this year, in late March and late July. The changes raised licensing fees, narrowed the legal THC definition, and placed delta-8 on the Schedule I list, which makes possession a state jail felony. The biggest casualty for retailers was THC-A flower, which is now effectively off the shelves.

At Botanic Bliss in Austin, owner Nicholas Mortillaro says that flower accounted for 60% of his business, and once it was gone, scared customers stopped coming in. His stopgap is about as Texas as it gets: ten-dollar Pokémon card packs sold through vending kiosks. Other owners aren’t pivoting. Scottye and Becca O’Neal, who run Hummingbird Hemp, will close their doors in December, though Scottye says they still want the industry itself to survive.

That’s why the lieutenant governor race is on every shop owner’s radar. Dan Patrick pushed for a full hemp ban, while challenger Vikki Goodwin supports a regulatory framework instead. For small businesses across Ellis County and the rest of Texas, November could decide whether the industry has a future at all.

Have you seen hemp shops in our area change, close, or pivot this year? Tell us what you’ve noticed.