Good morning,

In yesterday's edition, readers were asked what they thought about the fight over marijuana and THC-infused products in the Lone Star State. Below, you'll find out how folks answered.

This is the Texas Minute for Wednesday, June 25, 2025.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Insurance Must Now Cover 'Detransition' Care

• Addie Hovland reports that health insurance companies providing coverage for gender mutilating surgeries will soon be required to also cover the costs incurred by complications and reversals. This includes annual testing or screening to monitor a patient’s mental and physical health, as well as procedures or treatments to reverse gender mutilation procedures.
     
• Authored by State Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola), the law takes effect on Sept. 1. It applies to almost all private and government health benefit plans, regardless of where the policy was originally issued.
       
• "This law ensures that those who were misled and harmed by the false promises of gender ideology will no longer be abandoned in their pain." – Brady Gray of Texas Family Project

‘Make Texas Healthy Again’ Signed into Law

• Over the next two and a half years, various aspects of the "Make Texas Healthy Again" initiative will phase in around the Lone Star State. The legislation, promoted by State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham), includes provisions protecting kids’ physical activity time at school and requiring warning labels on foods containing certain additives.
      
• Beginning next year, food manufacturers will be required to clearly label products sold in Texas with a warning if they contain ingredients such as artificial flavoring, food colorings, or preservatives.
     
• Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy praised Texas’ movement on the issue, saying the Lone Star State was “leading the way.”

Federal Court Vacates Injunction Against Arkansas THC Ban

• A federal court has vacated an injunction against Arkansas’ statewide ban on THC. It is significant because Gov. Greg Abbott had cited that situation as a reason for vetoing a proposed ban in Texas. Robert Montoya and Travis Morgan cover the decision.
     
• Late Sunday night, Abbott vetoed Senate Bill 3, which would have banned the sale of synthetic and semi-synthetic THC products in Texas. Instead, he called for a special session starting July 21 to create a regulatory framework for intoxicating THC products. Abbott’s veto message cited legal concerns, pointing to the injunction against the Arkansas law.
      
• Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who had made SB 3 a priority, signaled at his Monday press conference that his team believed the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals would side with Arkansas in its decision. Which, it turns out, the court did on Tuesday.
       
• In their decision, the appellate judges wrote that Arkansas' law was in compliance with a 2018 federal law dealing with hemp production.
      
• The governor's press secretary told Texas Scorecard that Arkansas' law was different in "legally consequential ways" and that "we do not have time for a protracted legal fight" on the issue.

Higher Education Reforms Receive Gov. Abbott’s Approval

• Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation that increases his responsibility over the internal governance of taxpayer-subsidized universities. Adam Cahn reports that Senate Bill 37 abolishes the practice of “shared governance” in state colleges and universities while increasing the power of the governor's appointees over curricula and hiring decisions.
      
• In state universities, “shared governance” describes a system in which a university’s board of regents delegates authority to the faculty. While the regents are constitutionally accountable for the operations of their institution, the faculty is not. 
      
• Critics have argued that university faculty have been a source of woke ideologies at universities, leveraging “shared governance” to advance their activist agendas both in the classroom and on campus.
      
• Authored by State Sen. Brandon Creighton (R–Conroe), the new law requires boards of regents to conduct a review of all general education curricula every five years. Additionally, university presidents will be required to identify programs with low enrollment for consolidation or elimination.

Counties Making Switch to Hand-Marked Ballots

• Williamson County officials have voted to use hand-marked ballots in the November 2025 election, just two weeks after officials in Collin County made a similar decision. Luca Cacciatore has the details from Georgetown.
     
• In a unanimous vote yesterday, Williamson County commissioners approved a plan to eliminate the use of ballot marking devices and transition to ballot-on-demand printers.
      
• Some election security advocates believe that on-demand printers are more secure because ballot marking devices use barcodes that tally votes, which the voter cannot visually verify before casting it.
      
• In March, President Donald Trump called for election officials to implement “voter-verifiable” paper ballot records and to stop using ballots containing vote information within a “barcode or QR code.”
      
• Meanwhile, Erin Anderson reports Collin County officials are moving forward with implementing their decision from earlier this month. The county will be spending approximately $1.76 million for the equipment required to print ballots on demand at the polls.

Pro-Life Coalition Urges Abbott to Add Abortion Pill Ban To Special Session

• Following the failure of a proposal to crack down on the distribution of abortion-inducing drugs before the regular legislative session adjourned, Brandon Waltens reports that a coalition of pro-life lawmakers and organizations is calling on Gov. Greg Abbott to add the measure to the upcoming special session.
      
• During the regular legislative session, senators passed the Woman and Child Protection Act, allowing private civil lawsuits against those who manufacture, distribute, or facilitate the delivery of abortion-inducing drugs. Even though it passed out of the House State Affairs Committee, it was never brought to that chamber's floor for consideration.
      
• Supporters of the legislation have pointed to recent incidents—including the arrest of a North Texas man who allegedly slipped abortion drugs into his girlfriend’s drink—as evidence of a growing problem.

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Quote-Unquote

"It's not how many times you get knocked down that count, it's how many times you get back up." – George Armstrong Custer​

Y'All Answered

Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed legislation that would have banned consumable THC products in Texas, instead calling for stricter regulation. Lt Gov. Dan Patrick argues that regulating these products would require legalizing them first.

Yesterday, readers were asked if Texas should ban those THC products or legalize and regulate them. Just over 56 percent of readers want an outright ban, while 43.51 percent want the products legalized and regulated.

Here is a sampling of what readers wrote in response. 

• “Very disappointed in Gov. Abbott's veto of the THC bill. He may lose my vote.” – Houston Fannin
      

• “Leave hemp products alone. Regulate and tax them just like tobacco and alcohol. Get out of our medicinal and recreational choices before Texas becomes known as the nanny state!” – Nina Kruzan
      

• “THC should be made legal recreationally in Texas, just like Colorado.” – Justin Psencik
      

• “I don’t know why people don’t understand this is a drug with side effects! My brother died because of this drug. He had stomach cancer caused by his use of marijuana. That’s just the tip of the side effects of this drug because it’s a brain altering drug. So, tell me how you are going to regulate it.” – Jerilyn Austin
      

• “One only needs to look around the country at all the states that legalized cannabis to see that anything short of a complete ban is lunacy.” – Ken Bintliff
      

• “I think they need to get their act together and do the right thing. I personally think that it should be used just for medical reasons.” – Madeline Bentivegna
      

• “Cannabis is the first step to more powerful addictions.” – Collin Farrell
      

• “Legalize it and don't set the price so high that the black market takes it over, like what happened in Kalifornia.” – George Doby
      

• “ANY and ALL forms of THC products should be banned. Texas cannot turn itself into California.” – Mary Carswell
      

• “Legalizing any THC products, no matter how they’re regulated, is a slippery slope towards recreational use. Nothing good comes from THC in the long run.” – Mitchell Isaak
      

• “Many people benefit from the use of THC products. Regulating it like alcohol is needed to help keep it out of the hands of children.” – Merryl Redding
      

• “THC, marijuana, whatever you want to call it, is DANGEROUS. Always has been, always will. Don’t let anyone fool you into thinking it is good for you or not harmful.” –  Margie McAllister
      

• “I agree with banning the products, but I also agree with Abbott that the law has to be able to stand up to legal challenges.” – Thomas Camardo
      

• “THC has alleviated my husband’s arthritis pain. No strong opiate medication. It’s great.” – Dawn Gerstenberger 
      

• “Banning THC simply makes the unregulated black market that much bigger.” – David Holden 
     

• “My guess would be that millions in Texas use THC products. Many for medicinal purposes. The best plan is to legalize and regulate rather than make criminals out of them.” – Sylvia McLeod
     

• “Texans don't need another intoxicant. Even the TX House got this one right.” – Tim Rhodes

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