Tracker category
Courts: tracker entries
Courts do not write cannabis law, but they decide whether the state's rules hold up and what the words in a statute mean. In Texas the big recent fights have been over hemp: whether DSHS can schedule delta-8 and other THC isomers, and whether its 2026 hemp rules went past what the hemp statute allows. Separately, the state has sued several cities over voter-approved marijuana ordinances.
Lawsuits move slowly and in stages. A temporary injunction is not a final ruling, and an appeals court can let a rule be enforced while a case is pending. We mark entries In court until there is a final judgment.
- In courtCourts
Appeals court lets the state enforce its 2026 hemp rules while the lawsuit continues
The Fifteenth Court of Appeals lifted a Travis County injunction, so the DSHS consumable hemp rules that took effect March 31, 2026 can be enforced during the appeal.
Read the detailsHemp businesses sued DSHS in April 2026 over the new consumable hemp rules (the Texas Hemp Business Council case). A Travis County court first issued a temporary restraining order and then, on May 1, 2026, a temporary injunction against key parts of the rules.
The state appealed to the Fifteenth Court of Appeals, the statewide court created in 2023 to hear cases involving the state. On June 5, 2026, that court allowed the rules to be enforced while the appeal is pending, and it declined to reinstate the injunction later in June. The underlying case has not reached a final judgment, so this entry stays marked In court. DSHS told a Senate committee in July 2026 that it was enforcing the March 31 rules.
- In effectCourts
Texas Supreme Court sides with DSHS in the delta-8 case
In DSHS v. Sky Marketing Corp., the court held that the DSHS commissioner had authority to keep manufactured delta-8 THC on the controlled substances schedule, and it reversed the injunction.
Read the detailsThis case started in 2021, when hemp businesses challenged DSHS's updated definitions of THC. A Travis County court blocked the definitions, and that order held for years while the case worked its way up.
On May 1, 2026, the Supreme Court of Texas ruled that the businesses could bring the suit but that the commissioner acted within her authority, and it reversed the temporary injunction. Rehearing was denied and the case closed on June 5, 2026. The practical result is the July 31, 2026 reinstatement described in its own entry. The opinion is about the state's power to schedule these substances. It is not a ruling on marijuana possession.
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