By Goodwin Signals Openness to Reform Options
Texas’s incoming Democratic lieutenant governor says there are multiple paths forward for cannabis reform after her party’s midterm victories. Lt. Gov.-elect Vikki Goodwin (D) discussed the issue in an interview with MS NOW on Saturday.
Goodwin said she and voters “had a lot of conversations on the campaign trail” about the hemp THC product ban pushed by incumbent Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), whom she defeated.
“Now we have an opportunity to make sure that we’re supporting small businesses that are in the hemp industry and supporting the veterans and people that use those products to manage their pain, PTSD and so many other things,” she told MS NOW.
Asked about broader legalization, Goodwin said “we still have to have a lot of conversations about that.” She noted that opinions differ even within the industry.
“There’s been conversations about, do we expand our TCUP, the Texas Compassionate Use Program, which is medicinal marijuana, or do we legalize it altogether?” she said on MS NOW.
Opposition to the THC Ban and Agency Rules
In a separate interview with WFAA-TV, Goodwin reiterated that she is “not in favor of a THC ban” like the one Patrick passed last session before Gov. Greg Abbott (R) vetoed it.
After the veto, state agencies advanced restrictive rules that effectively banned many hemp products. Those rules are currently being challenged in court.
“I think that we should have the Department of State Health Services unwind the rules that they put in place because that’s legislative,” the lieutenant governor-elect told WFAA-TV.
“They changed the law through those rules, and they don’t have the authority to do that,” she said.
Goodwin thanked members of the hemp industry, including the Hemp Business Council, during her election night victory speech.
Campaign Stance and Political Context
During the campaign, Goodwin hosted a “Legalize It” rally and organized cannabis-focused phonebanking efforts.
She claimed Patrick pushed the hemp THC ban to benefit alcohol companies, which are among his substantial campaign contributors.
“We’ve seen the lieutenant governor take hundreds of thousands of dollars from the alcohol industry, and that’s what drove the policy around the ban on THC,” she said.
“I am in favor of treating THC like alcohol,” Goodwin said, adding that taxing THC like alcohol and cigarettes to fund healthcare is part of her healthcare plan.
Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa (D) has said she wants to let Texas voters decide on marijuana legalization through a legislative ballot referendum. Recent polling shows a strong bipartisan majority of Texans support legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana.
