Pray for the roof of my mouth. I just ate a bowl of Froot Loops with a foolishly low milk ratio, so I’m writing this column in pain. I’m battered emotionally, too, because this is the last one.
I’m told that Chronicle leadership has been overwhelmed with the amount of job applications that have come in to be the paper’s next cannabis columnist. Seeing such high interest in the column makes me proud, but processing those applicants has been a daunting task for editors.
If you’ve applied, you’re still in consideration. Management will be evaluating résumés, reading writing samples, and chatting with folks in coming weeks. During that time, this page will be guest-written by multiple Chronicle staffers.
You didn’t think I was the only stoner at The Austin Chronicle, did ya?
Six weeks ago, when I announced that I’d be handing off this column, my high ass forgot to thank someone very important: the readers. Thank you for spending your time with me and thank you for indulging my excruciating sense of wonder. I’ve enjoyed a charmed life in writing because of you.
It’s meant a lot to me to have a public job in marijuana because, when I was younger, I spent too much time in handcuffs, in front of judges, and even in holding cells just for possessing the flowers of a plant that generally makes people insightful and unselfish. Even as it’s shifted toward the mainstream, cannabis – particularly in Texas – remains a justice issue.
But it’s also a matter of business, of culture, of medicine and mental health, of agriculture, of sustainability, and connecting with other humans. So I know that the next author of the Austin Chronic will have no shortage of things to write about.
The Hemp Market Moves Toward 21+
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission established age restrictions on hemp products last Tuesday with an emergency order. The rules prohibit sales of consumable hemp products to anyone under 21 and require retailers to card buyers.
These are the first age rules for consumable hemp in Texas, though most retailers have voluntarily age-gated products already. The rule came as no surprise, as it adheres to Gov. Greg Abbott’s recent executive order. Less expected was a one-strike-and-you’re-out provision that calls for the immediate cancellation of the business’ license – harsher, comparatively, than similar infractions with alcohol.
Enforcement of the new regulations began Oct. 1, but as an emergency rule, it will only last 180 days. By then, TABC and the Department of State Health Services will have established official rules on the hemp market. TABC notes that the emergency rule applies only to the alcohol sellers it currently regulates. The larger market of hemp shops are licensed by DSHS.
Vape Pens Could Be Coming to the Medical Market This Fall
THC vape pens have been outlawed for a month, but they’ll likely be available to patients in the state’s medical cannabis program before year’s end.
A law expanding Texas’ Compassionate Use Program called for the inclusion of “pulmonary inhalation” devices for low-THC cannabis. At the time the legislation was presented, it was widely believed that “pulmonary inhalation” would refer to inhaler-style devices with aerosolized THC – a pretty obscure way to consume cannabis.
However, as DSHS has been hashing out rules related to pulmonary inhalation, it’s now looking like THC vape pens will be approved medical devices.
Specifically, DSHS’s proposed rules define a pulmonary inhalation device as “a machine designed, marketed, and commercially sold to allow a user to inhale an aerosolized or vaporized substance” and detailed only that such a device “must not burn or ignite a substance for the purpose of inhaling smoke.” Disposable vaporizers fit those qualifications.
It’s a welcome addition to the medical market, which has previously allowed for gummies, tinctures, chocolates, beverages, and topicals, but nothing inhalable. Inhaling cannabis is a preferred method of consumption because it takes effect quicker than edibles. That means a patient seeking immediate relief for an approved ailment, like PTSD-related anxiety, can receive the desired effect quickly and in a dosage that’s easy to control.
A Texas medical cannabis industry executive, speaking anonymously because the rules had not been finalized as of our print deadline, called the DSHS proposal “a very open regulatory environment” and predicted vapes could be available to medical patients as early as November and assuredly by the end of the year. Before then, industry stakeholders and the overseeing state agency will need to hammer out specs on approved devices, establish recall traceability, and coordinate necessary supply chain needs.
The source said their main focus would be on providing “clean, efficient, and safe products for medical patients in Texas.”
Whether a TCUP patient can be prescribed vapes will be up to their physician.
As the proposed rules are written, prescribing physicians will also be the ones approving inhalation devices. In an interview last month, Nico Richardson, CEO of Texas Original, the state’s largest dispensary, contended that licensed dispensaries should also have input on approved devices to ensure reasonable patient access.
“This could lead to a large number of prescriptions that cannot be filled and significantly increase the cost to the patient,” Richardson said. “We recommend that the Health and Human Services Commission allow the dispensing organizations to submit device options for approval. Doctors will then have the ability to select from a variety of approved devices that can be fulfilled by the dispensary.”
In any regard, we are entering a new era of medical cannabis in Texas. Following the passage of HB 46, new qualifying conditions have been added, as well as a framework for physicians to recommend additional conditions that can be treated with cannabis. Additionally, that bill vastly increased the number of dispensing organizations for the program. All of that should expand patient access to TCUP.
A media representative from DSHS told the Chronic that rules on pulmonary inhalation will be finalized after Oct. 6.
The Runner’s High
I recently scrolled upon an Instagram reel discussing the euphoric feelings people get from extended moderate-intensity workouts, commonly known as the runner’s high. Referencing an unspecified research study, it suggested that the mainstream belief of an endorphin release being responsible for running’s feel-good feeling was a red herring and that it’s actually caused by an individual’s endocannabinoid system. As a pro smoker and novice runner (5-9 miles a week), my interest was piqued and I found several studies indicating that a bliss-inducing neurotransmitter called anandamide, which binds to cannabinoid receptors, is indeed triggered by vigorous, sustained exercise.
Recently, I’ve monitored my max heart rate and run time to achieve what studies show allows for maximum anandamide production. While I did note an improved mood, it was not what I would consider being “high,” prompting two takeaways: 1) Exercise is good for your mental health, and 2) People who talk about “runner’s high” don’t actually know what being high feels like.
This article appears in October 3 • 2025.