Texas House lawmakers will hold the fate of THC products in their hands. They’re popular products, but they’ve been sold in a gray market because of a loophole in a 2019 law.

Tuesday night, leadership in the Texas House postponed a debate and vote on THC as an amendment circulated in the chamber, drastically changing the House sponsor’s version. The current House version regulates THC similar to alcohol, placing it under the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and requiring specific retail licenses and additional rules.

However, the amendment would impose a near-total ban on THC products, similar to what the Texas Senate and its leader, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, are aiming for.

Any changes would impact an $8 billion industry with several thousand stores that opened after the 2019 law. At that time, Texas lawmakers allowed farmers to grow hemp and sell low-level products.

Lawmakers in the Texas Senate are now furious that so many stores have opened near schools. The bill’s author, Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, called the product “poison” and reminded Texans on the Senate floor that they did not legalize marijuana or THC products.

“These people are not good people. They’re evil. They don’t care. It’s all about the bottom line,” said Sen. Perry about THC retailers next to schools.

The near-total ban easily passed the Senate with Patrick’s push. On Tuesday, he threatened in an online video to force a special session over the issue.

“We must ban THC. We can’t regulate it. We don’t have enough police to check every store when there’s eight to nine thousand of them,” said Lt. Gov. Patrick in the video.

At a House public hearing earlier this month, store owners and veterans largely spoke against the near-total ban.

“Every day, through our shops, we meet veterans, parents, teachers, first responders, seniors – real Texans who have found healing without harmful side effects. Without addiction,” said Stephen Gurka III, a veteran and retail shop owner.

According to a recent poll from the Texas Politics Project, more Texas voters want THC products to be legal. Republican voters are nearly split on the issue.

The proposed ban would not change the state’s compassionate use program. Doctors will still be able to prescribe CBD and THC products for children with special needs and some people with disabilities.