Dan Patrick has Tantrum as THC Ban Goes Up in Smoke

Patrick’s Big Pharma scam died faster than a gas station vape.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s master plan to ban hemp-derived THC went down like a cheap gummy at a sorority party. Just minutes before midnight, Gov. Greg Abbott swooped in and vetoed Patrick’s THC ban, citing “valid constitutional challenges” which is code for a bill so poorly written it wouldn’t survive a day in court.

This eleventh-hour veto triggered another full-on Patrick meltdown.

At a hastily called press conference, Patrick claimed Abbott had blindsided him, conveniently forgetting that making laws involves more than acting as the hall monitor at the Capitol. Patrick’s theatrical “I won’t legalize marijuana in Texas” rant was pure political theater, designed to intimidate other lawmakers and remind them they better do whatever he says.

Here’s a series of clips from Patrick’s half-hour press conference, where he stood completely alone this time behind the mic:

It’s particularly interesting that Patrick states his team sees nothing wrong with the bill, implying that Governor Abbott is misinformed. In a veto letter dated last year from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to the Florida Secretary of State, DeSantis vetoed a bill that would have imposed excessive regulatory burdens on small businesses selling hemp products.

What Patrick didn’t mention was his bill’s blatant pharma-friendly bait-and-switch. SB3’s ban was meant to be paired with House Bill 46, which was already signed into law by Governor Abbott. HB 46 expands Texas’s medical marijuana program, adding “chronic pain" as a qualifying condition to get a prescription for THC—which is merely a pricier version of the same over-the-counter products banned by SB3.

The ban paired with the expansion of medical THC would be a clear win for Big Pharma at the expense of normal Texans.

Texas veterans and chronic pain sufferers saw through Patrick’s “protect the kids” charade immediately. Even the Texas VFW slammed the bill, defending hemp as a safe alternative to the pharmaceutical cocktails that “healthcare professionals” dole out. Their statement said that many veterans under the care of Big Pharma were prescribed over 10,000 pills a year! But Patrick, ever the protector of corporate interests, pretended not to notice.

Patrick continues to throw tantrums over hemp so juvenile it has experts and anonymous healthcare professionals suggesting that Patrick should be forcibly prescribed gas station vape pens to chill out.

But the drama isn’t over. Abbott called a special session to craft some kind of compromise for hemp regulations, while Patrick vowed to continue fighting for Big Pharma’s preferred outright ban.

The bottom line? Dan Patrick’s attempt to quietly hand Texas’ billion-dollar hemp market to Big Pharma blew up spectacularly, leaving him looking less like a conservative leader and more like a lobbyist caught red-handed.

Texans—strap in, strap on, and grab some CBD popcorn—this high-stakes, high-drama circus is far from over.