Full legalization is coming, one way or another, and states opposing it are only hurting themselves.

This is a bit like saying: in order to prevent minors from getting their hands on Everlear or 151, we must ban all alcohol in all forms.

> Though that 2019 law does not allow products to contain more than trace amounts of delta-9 THC, it did not establish that same threshold for other hemp derivatives. Critics say the hemp industry exploited that loophole to usher in more than 8,000 retailers selling THC-laced edibles, drinks, vapes and flower buds across Texas.

And here lies the real problem I see, when state governments start banning recreational cannabis and instead have "hemp loopholes", you end up with a much sketchier product for consumers. In Colorado I can go to the dispensary and buy "pure pot" that is just flower that was grown, dried and packaged with no other modification. With these hemp derivatives like Delta 8/9/etc, they distill down the various parts into a chemical form and then spray that shit on hemp flower or add it to other products.

Now the question I ask is: how was it distilled? what chemicals were used in the process? are those chemicals safe? and a million other related questions. With regular pot there's none of that.

And the last thing I'll say on this is it seems that pot has unfortunately gotten tangled up in the culture war here in the US. Lots of folks I see now that oppose cannabis legalization don't really have a specific reason to oppose it, they just do because "pot" is now a proxy for "woke" and "liberal" and they have to own the libs.

It's miracle that Dan Patrick is not in jail and wasn't impeached from his job last year. Tough on crime Republicans in Texas Senate acquitted him of 16 impeachment charges around bribery and corruption.

It's only a matter of time before more states realize how much money they're leaving on the table without legalization.

It's ridiculous. There's no enforcement on all the analogs that work maybe 50% as well as the actual thing. The state has to be happy and looking the other way on all the tax revenue now being brought in by these corner smoke shops.

The war on drugs continues because there's police and prison money and status gained by maintaining the status quo.