Texas Gov. Greg Abbott spoke for the first time Friday about the Executive Order he issued last week banning THC products for people under the age of 21. 

He issued the order on Wednesday after negotiations over a bill between him, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, and House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, failed. 

"There are concerns by everybody, be it members of the House, the Senate, myself and I'll to say the general public that we want to make sure we do everything we can to protect our kids," Abbott said during an unrelated news conference.

What does Abbott's Executive Order on THC do?

The governor's Executive Order requires the Department of State Health Services and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission to ban sales of THC products to those younger than 21. 

The order regulates the state's industry and requires verification by government-issued ID for sales to adults. It also calls for an increase in enforcement across the state. 

THC was hot hot-button issue for state leaders in 2025

The issue has attracted a lot of attention since the end of the regular legislative session, when both the Senate and House approved a ban on all THC products for everyone. 

Abbott vetoed the bill, saying it violated federal law, something Patrick denies. 

During remarks on Friday, the governor acknowledged he and legislative leaders could not come to an agreement. 

"The fact of the matter is, we had a lot of opportunities, and I put a lot of ideas on the table to make sure we took action by the House and the Senate to deny these products to our kids," Abbott said. "That was not passed and gotten to my desk, and so I wanted to make sure that I wasn't going to let a day go by without doing something about that."

In a statement earlier Friday, the Lt. Governor said, "A ban is the only way to truly protect kids from accessing these products. We have age limits on alcohol and cigarettes, but we know that does not stop kids from getting them either. The difference here is that one highly potent THC product can cause irreversible damage to a young person's mind forever." 

During a campaign-related news conference last month, Patrick said that anything less than a total ban of THC is like legalizing marijuana. 

"If you regulate something, you're legalizing it," Patrick said. "We passed the ban, that's where we stand. That's where we will always stand because we do not want to make Texas the marijuana capital of the country."

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