Abbott Vetoes THC Ban, Food For Hungry Kids, Pledges Special Session

It’s Greg Abbott’s world. We’re all just hungry, high, and screwed in it.

Some men ride into sunset with spurs jingling and dust on their boots, but Greg Abbott showed up with a veto pen and a grudge against hungry kids. That’s right, the Devil’s taking notes and he’s learning from the Governor of Texas, who in the late hours of Sunday night vetoed the $60 million in funding for the Summer EBT program, which had been approved during the state budget discussions of the 89th Texas Legislature.

• The child food‐insecurity rate in Texas was approximately 22.8% in 2022, meaning more than one in five children struggle with hunger.

• Across Central Texas, more than 1 in 4 children (over 25%) are food insecure, significantly higher than the national average of about 20%.

• Notably, nearly 3.8 million Texas children would have qualified for $120 in benefits via Summer EBT, now lost following Abbott’s veto.

Texas is facing a hunger crisis, and Abbott responded by slamming the pantry door shut. And this is who the Republican Party of Texas is. While more than half of our electorate doesn’t vote, and millions of children are starving, the people in power don’t care, and actively make moves to harm them more.

Greg Abbott harms hungry children. Full stop.

Abbott also vetoed the THC ban, but you should expect it to be back in special session.

The vast majority of Republican voters have no clue what’s going on in government or understand policy or policy positions, especially as it pertains to THC and cannabis regulation and/or legalization. I know this from my own experience, writing about cannabis policy in Texas. Every single time I’ve ever said, “The only way we’ll ever have a legalized recreational cannabis market in Texas is by voting Republicans out,” I’m always bombarded with emails from Republicans who proclaim that they like to get high, too.

Look, I watch these Legislative hearings and listen to more of these Republican speeches, and read more of their websites, than most people. Democrats in Texas have been trying to legalize and regulate recreational cannabis for many years, but Republicans have stopped them every session.

And with Dan Patrick’s THC ban, every single Republican Senator voted in favor of it, and all but two Republican House members voted in favor of it. Republicans do not believe in cannabis liberty, full stop. They never have.

Why did Abbott have so much pressure to veto a bill that almost every Republican Legislator voted in favor of? Because at the end of the day, Republican voters ignore policy until it impacts them. This was one of those policies.

This morning, Dan Patrick threw a temper tantrum of epic proportions.

Wearing his usual sanctimony and a face full of righteous fury, Patrick held a press conference to accuse Greg Abbott of being soft on weed. According to Patrick, the Governor of Texas has “effectively legalized marijuana” because he dared to veto Dan’s holy crusade to ban THC.

You’d think Abbott rolled a blunt in the Governor’s Mansion and passed it to Snoop Dog.

Patrick ranted for over 30 minutes, blaming hemp shops for everything from kids walking in front of trains to global terrorism. He invoked cartels, church proximity, lawsuits, and a 15-year-old with a gummy, painting a fever dream of weed-induced chaos where every smoke shop is apparently run by El Chapo and staffed by Satan.

At one point, he warned that the THC industry might be a front for terrorists. Not stoners. Terrorists. Because nothing screams “Al Qaeda” like a sleepy dude in a tie-dye shirt selling watermelon edibles in Waco.

He claimed 105 Republicans voted for his bill and acted personally betrayed that Abbott didn’t rubber-stamp it at 11:22 p.m. like some legislative DoorDash delivery. He even said he “felt sorry for law enforcement,” as if the cops are sobbing because someone’s grandma might buy a CBD tincture at Walgreens.

And just like that, the press conference turned into a hostage video, with Patrick begging the Governor to release a statement confirming he’s still a square.

Abbott doesn’t want to look like the guy banning THC while telling starving kids to eat boot leather for summer. Even he knows how bad that looks.

Patrick, on the other hand, went full moral panic, promising to re-fight the THC war in the special session, presumably right after he finishes banning the concept of joy.

Greg Abbott has officially called a 30-day special session, set to begin on July 21.

Because nothing says “limited government” like dragging lawmakers back to Austin to clean up the mess he helped make.

Per the Texas Constitution, special sessions are controlled entirely by the Governor. Lawmakers can only pass bills on topics Abbott handpicks, like a legislative buffet where only Daddy Greg gets to order.

And what’s on the menu so far? Cement kilns, real estate recording, judicial procedures, and some fee tinkering on water projects, plus Dan Patrick’s long-lost anti-THC bill, of course. Because nothing screams “emergency session” like banning your grandma’s CBD gummies and regulating limestone near a microchip plant.

But here’s the kicker, Abbott called the agenda “initial.” That means he can add more items at any time, like, say, Trump’s demand to redraw Texas’ congressional districts before the 2026 midterms. It’s not on the list yet, but don’t be surprised if it sneaks in once the cameras are off and the base is sufficiently riled.

Also not on the list? Any of the 28 bills Abbott vetoed, including one bipartisan criminal justice reform bill, HB413, that would’ve stopped people from being jailed longer than the sentence for their alleged crime. That bill passed the House 126–10 and the Senate 30–1. Abbott killed it anyway.

So, yes, we’ve got another 30-day circus headed our way, and I’ll be watching every act. I’ll keep you updated as the Texas GOP juggles bad priorities, rewrites the rules, and fights over whether hungry kids or hemp shops are the bigger threat to our “way of life.”

Spoiler, the biggest threat to our ways of life is Republicans.

Texas Republicans aren’t governing. They’re grandstanding.

They’re not solving problems. They’re creating them, then holding press conferences to blame someone else. They’re starving children, sabotaging criminal justice reform, and waging a holy war against cannabis, all while pretending they’re the victims.

This isn’t about policy. It’s about power. And they’re counting on you not to notice.

But I notice. And I’ll keep noticing. I’ll be tracking every twist of this special session and every disgraceful move they try to sneak through when they think no one’s paying attention.

So stay tuned, stay loud, and stay mad. Because they’re hoping you won’t. And that’s how they win.

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