Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick presides over the Senate at the Capitol on the first day of the 89th Legislative Session Tuesday January 14, 2025.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick displays a range of intoxicating THC products available in Texas to illustrate his concerns that seemingly harmless snacks and drinks pose a danger to public health among children and adults. He urged reporters during a news conference to “take this story seriously,” as Senate Bill 3, which bans all THC products and has been sent to Gov. Greg Abbott's office, May 28, 2025.

Texas Lt. Govenor Dan Patrick shows his ID to an employee at The Happy Cactus Apothecary in Austin Tuesday, March 18, 2025. Courtesy of David Sergi.

Bahama Mama’s flagship store on Westheimer Road in Montrose. Many of Bahama Mama's 85 stores across Texas will struggle to stay open if Gov. Abbott signs a statewide ban on hemp-derived THC and CBD products.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick displayed his power and hypocrisy during the 89th Texas Legislature, and signs he’s beginning to slip.

Patrick exceeded himself at a press conference to convince Gov. Greg Abbott to sign a ban on legal THC, the active ingredient in cannabis that makes you high. He lost his temper with my colleague Jeremy Wallace for asking, Why not treat THC like alcohol?

“Are you crazy?” Patrick replied, flailing to justify his desire to roll back access to gummies and beverages, which have become an $8 billion Texas industry that employs 53,000 people. “We don’t want anybody buying anything off the shelf that could kill them or ruin their mental state for the rest of their lives.”

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Lieutenant governor, do you know........

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