Capitol Inside
November 9, 2021

Governor Greg Abbott invited former U.S. military members on Tuesday to congregate outside the Texas Capitol for a Veterans Day celebration two days from now at the same time the state is fighting them in court over its sudden ban on the sale of the cannabis product Delta-8.

The offer is the Republican governor's latest attempt to score points with the conservative base by meddling in the Texas Capital City's business.

"The City of Austin's overreaching COVID-19 requirements have placed an undue burden on large events like the 2021 Veterans Day Parade, forcing the Austin Veterans Parade Foundation to cancel their annual event," Abbott said in an email. "That is why I am inviting the Austin Veterans Parade Foundation and military veterans to host a rally on the south steps of the the Texas State Capitol to celebrate our nation's heroes. The State of Texas will always support our military veterans, and we are committed to ensuring that the traditions of Veterans Day are kept alive in the capital city."

The assertion is false based on a case at the Travis County Courthouse several blocks away where State District Judge Jan Soifer issued a temporary injunction to prevent the state from charging businesses and individuals with a felony offense for the selling and possession of the extract Delta-8.

The ruling from the Democratic jurist came in response to a lawsuit that the Austin CBD dispensary Hometown Hero filed after the Department of State Health Services' abrupt classification of Delta-8 as a controlled substance in a move that made the product illegal overnight without a vote by the Legislature.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars - the largest organization of its kind - has teamed up with the local outlet in the judicial battle aimed at stopping the state from outlawing Delta-8 with an administrative ruling.

Delta-8 is a cousin to the central ingredient in marijuana known as THC. The product has been effective for the alleviation of physical pain and mental suffering from post-service ailments like post traumatic stress disorder - or PTSD.

CBD dispensers and other retailers have been selling Delta-8 under the assumption that the Legislature's legalization of hemp in 2019 - coupled with a federal farm bill that Congress approved the previous year when Donald Trump was president and Republicans controlled the U.S. House and Senate.

more to come ...