Texas Adopts Consumable Hemp Rules on Age Verification and On-Premises Use

Two Texas agencies adopted rules in 2026 governing consumable hemp products (CHP). The executive commissioner of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), on behalf of the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), adopted amendments and new sections in Title 25, Chapter 300 of the Texas Administrative Code (TAC), effective March 31, 2026. The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) adopted new 16 TAC § 35.7, effective June 22, 2026, on consumption of consumable hemp products at certain alcohol retail premises. Neither rulemaking regulates employer drug testing, although the DSHS labeling rule requires a warning that a product can cause a user to fail a drug test.

Both sets of rules are in effect. They regulate the hemp product market, not employer testing programs.

DSHS Rules Under Executive Order GA-56

According to the adoption notice published in the Texas Register, the DSHS rules respond to Governor Greg Abbott's Executive Order GA-56, issued September 10, 2025, which directed DSHS to prohibit the sale of CHPs to minors and to add age verification, testing and record-keeping requirements. The rules were proposed on December 26, 2025, filed on March 2, 2026, and took effect March 31, 2026. DSHS reported receiving comments from 1,421 commenters. The original consumable hemp rules took effect August 2, 2020, under House Bill 1325 (2019), which created Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 443.

The adopted rules set a fee of $10,000 per facility for a manufacturer license and $5,000 per location for retailer registration. They include tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) in the calculation of total delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and update testing, packaging, labeling and record-keeping requirements. The rules also add a written consent requirement for TABC to enter the premises of manufacturers and retail registrants to conduct a physical inspection.

Minimum Age and Identification

The rules define "minor" as a person under 21 years of age. New 25 TAC § 300.701(a) prohibits a person from delivering, selling or offering to sell a CHP to a minor. Under § 300.701(b), "A person who sells CHP must verify each purchaser's age by reviewing a valid proof of identification before completing the sale of any CHP."

Section 300.701(c) lists acceptable identification, which may include a driver's license issued by Texas or another state, a passport, or an identification card issued by a state or government agency. The identification is to contain a physical description and photograph consistent with the person's appearance, show the person's date of birth, be issued by a government and not be expired.

Drug Test Label Warning

Under 25 TAC § 300.402(b), as adopted, consumable hemp product labels must include specific warnings, including that the "product may contain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and can cause a user to fail a drug test." The other required warnings are to keep the product out of reach of children, that all THCs have psychoactive properties, that pregnant or nursing women should consult a healthcare provider before use, and that the product has not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

TABC Rule on Licensed Alcohol Retail Premises

New 16 TAC § 35.7 prohibits a TABC permittee or licensee from authorizing or allowing anyone to consume a CHP on premises covered by a wine and malt beverage retailer's off-premise permit, a retail dealer's off-premise license, a package store permit or a wine-only package store permit. Under § 35.7(b), a permittee or licensee commits a violation "if it knows or, in the exercise of reasonable care, should know of the consumption of consumable hemp products or the likelihood of its occurrence and fails to take reasonable steps to prevent it." TABC stated that this language was taken almost verbatim from an existing rule, 16 TAC § 34.3(b)(3). Section 35.7(c) sets a base penalty of $250.

TABC adopted the rule without changes to the proposed text published April 10, 2026, at 51 TexReg 2306, so the rule text was not republished with the adoption notice. A public hearing was held April 23, 2026. The rule was filed June 2, 2026, and took effect June 22, 2026. In the adoption notice, TABC stated that "the rule does not directly prohibit the consumption of CHPs at applicable locations, but rather it prohibits certain TABC licensees and permittees from allowing the consumption of CHPs on their premises."