Police in Austin, Texas say they will treat possession of delta-8 THC products as a state jail felony after a statewide ban on the product takes effect Friday. KUT news reports. Penalties for felonies under the law can carry a sentence of 180 to 2 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

According to the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) noticedelta-8 THC products will be Schedule I drugs under state law if they contain more than 0.3% THC.

Hometown Hero CEO Lukas Gilkey, who led the original lawsuit challenging the ban, told KUT that the state’s strategy “is now to kill (the hemp industry) with a thousand paper cuts.”

In November 2021, the plaintiffs in the case won a temporary injunction that blocked the state from treating manufactured delta-8 products as a controlled substance; however, in May, the state Supreme Court overturned the order, allowing it to go into effect. The court ruled that the lawsuit can still go ahead, but enforcement of the rules can begin.

“I think they’ve realized that a total ban is very unlikely, but if they continue to take certain parts of the industry from us at some point, it’s just going to wipe out a lot of small shops.” — Gilkey on KUT News

There are more than 14,000 retailers licensed to sell hemp products in Texas, according to DSHS data outlined by KUT. This includes smoke shops, convenience stores, restaurants, bars and other retailers.

Austin police did not say how they would determine what type of THC was in a product, and that it will ultimately be up to prosecutors whether to file charges.

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A federal judge ruled Monday in favor of 10 hemp beverage makers, allowing them to sell their intoxicating hemp products for 14 days. WCMH reports. The order by U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey Helmick, who sided with the businesses’ argument that the state’s hemp ban likely violates federal law, could be extended.

According to the decision, 420 Beverage, Your Highness, Opportunity, Saucy Seltzer, Appalachian Girls, Modern Distribution, Niche Beverage, The Hemp Collect, Slightly Elevated, Mellow Fellow and Muffins will be allowed to continue selling their products in the state for two weeks.

This is the third judge to rule against the state’s ban on hemp-derived THC. In April, Judge Jeremiah S. Ray called prohibition “inherently discriminatory” in its ruling in favor of Seattle, Washington-based THC drink maker North Fork, maker of Cycling Frog. That same month, Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Brown overlooked with Happy Harvest and Get Wright Lounge, which argued that the ban violates federal law by classifying hemp-derived THC products as cannabis, not hemp, and by regulating them under the state’s adult cannabis program.

While Helmick’s ruling may be delayed, on Nov. 12, new federal rules go into effect ban THC products derived from hemp. The law recriminalizes hemp-derived THC and redefines hemp as “grown for the use of the whole grain, oil, cake, nut, husk, or any other non-cannabinoid ingredient, derivative, mixture, preparation, or seed production” and “grown for the purpose of producing a hemp intended for plant consumption or other products intended for human consumption therefrom.” grown from seeds that do not exceed” 0.3% THC.