Austin, Texas — A Travis County court has temporarily restored a pause on the state’s ban of smokable hemp products, keeping sales alive through May 14 while the legal fight plays out. The Texas Hemp Business Council, state attorneys and the Department of State Health Services are now locked in competing legal moves after DSHS rolled out strict new rules on consumable hemp on March 31. Updated May 7, 2026, the case has become a make-or-break moment for retailers and regulators across Texas.
The court’s short-term decision came after the state filed an appeal last week, which briefly lifted an injunction that had halted enforcement of the new rules. The Texas Hemp Business Council announced Thursday that the injunction was reinstated through May 14 to give the state time to respond to the industry’s appeal. That deadline is now the next legal hinge point for both sides.
DSHS introduced its regulations at the end of March, demanding child-resistant packaging, mandatory product testing, and a strict 0.3% THC cap for consumable hemp items. The agency also raised licensing fees dramatically in some cases, pushing many retailers from roughly $250 up toward $10,000. Those numbers are central to why so many small shops say they could be put out of business overnight.
Hemp advocates argue the new rules will force stores to throw out huge quantities of inventory they bought legally under the old system, and they say the fee increases amount to an unconstitutional occupation tax. For operators who live on small margins, the choice is stark: comply at enormous cost or risk being shut down. That pressure is what drove industry lawyers back into court to try to block enforcement while the case proceeds.
State lawyers counter that these measures are about consumer safety and preventing harm, pointing to chemical science and public health concerns as justification. They single out THC-A, a compound commonly present in smokable hemp, warning it can convert into an intoxicating Delta-9 when exposed to heat and calling it “marijuana in waiting.” Those public safety claims form the backbone of the state’s legal defense.
“The State appealed the injunction we won in Travis County this week on Tuesday,” Texas Hemp Business Council . “Because of that, the injunction is temporarily paused, and the DSHS rules are enforceable. We filed an emergency motion yesterday asking to put the injunction back in place while the case continues. This process could take 1-3 weeks.”
Legally, the back-and-forth is straightforward but disruptive: when the state filed its appeal, the injunction was paused and enforcement technically returned, and the industry then asked the court to restore the pause while the appeal moves upward. That tug-of-war leaves retailers in limbo — some can keep selling for now, others face rapid compliance costs if enforcement resumes. The emergency motion aims to buy time so courts higher up can weigh in without businesses being forced to make ruinous choices in the meantime.
For consumers, the immediate effect is uncertainty about what will remain on shelves and whether certain smokable hemp products will still be available after regulators act. For business owners, the looming danger is inventory loss and license costs that could wipe out years of investment. The next formal step is the state’s written response by the May 14 deadline, followed by whatever scheduling the court opts for after that.
Court filings in Travis County District Court and statements from the Texas Hemp Business Council show both sides preparing for a sustained legal fight, and regulators have signaled they are ready to defend the rules as necessary for public health. Meanwhile local retailers, lobbyists and lawyers are watching closely, because the outcome here will ripple across Texas markets and set precedent for how states can regulate hemp-derived products going forward.
https://x.com/texashempbiz/status/2052397282306171073?s=46&t=bVpkX7gRg0VblTyPOvgTrQ
