In the News

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Houston Chronicle (4/7/2025) Heather Fazio, director of Texas Cannabis Policy Center—a coalition of organizations that advocates for policy reform—said she saw a lot more curiosity from House committee members than in the Senate hearing. 

"Most importantly, I think that they're recognizing that to regulate and allow hemp products in beverages while criminalizing people for eating them in gummies, for example, just doesn't make sense," Fazio said. 

Marijuana Moment (3/19/2025) “Concerns about semi-synthetic THC can be directly addressed through regulatory enforcement and by legalizing natural cannabis,” Heather Fazio, director of the group, said. “It is Texas’s commitment to prohibition that has created this market for converted cannabinoids in the first place.”

“If lawmakers are serious about protecting consumers, the logical step is to legalize and properly regulate botanical cannabis with naturally occurring THC, rather than enacting broad bans that drive demand for illicit alternatives,” she said.

Texas Standard (3/13/2025) SB3 would ban the sale of consumable THC products, but cannabis reform advocates worry it would have far-reaching – and expensive – consequences. Heather Fazio, director of the marijuana reform advocacy group Texas Cannabis Policy Center, spoke with the Standard’s Angela Kocherga to explain why the hemp industry opposes the bill.

"The solution is not prohibition. We know from many years of history that prohibition simply doesn’t work. Instead, what we’d like to see instituted are sensible regulations..."

Marijuana Moment (2/26/2025) “As a former prosecutor, Speaker Pro Tem Moody knows first-hand how cannabis arrests negatively impact the court system and derail the lives of peaceful cannabis consumers,” Fazio told Marijuana Moment in an email. “Moody remains a stalwart champion of cannabis law reform,” Fazio said this week. “His House Bill 3242 would institute statewide decriminalization, freeing Texans from unreasonably harsh penalties and patchwork local policy.”

Marijuana Moment (2/06/2025) Heather Fazio, of the Texas Cannabis Policy Center, echoed those sentiments, writing in an email that “now is the time to institute better regulations, rather than sending us back to an era of prohibition.”

“There’s certainly a need for improved regulations, like age restrictions, but this multibillion-dollar industry reflects free enterprise, not exploitation,” Fazio said. She also called the survey question about banning THC “misleading” for suggesting that hemp products are entirely unregulated. “In fact, consumable products are regulated at the state and federal levels,” she said.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram (2/03/2025) "There is room to improve the state’s hemp program and regulate it," said Heather Fazio, director of [Texas Cannabis Policy Center], an advocacy group that favors regulation over a ban of consumable products.

“Which is going to be, in my opinion, much better for Texas,” Fazio said. “It’s going to be in our interest regarding public health and public safety.”

National Public Radio - NPR (1/13/2025)  "Don't take hemp-derived consumables away from us, something that works, something that helps," says Mitch Fuller, Chairman of the VFW National Legislative Committee and a veteran of the Iraq War. Like many veterans, he wants access to cheap, potent cannabis to treat his PTSD from combat duty. Don't take that option away from us," he continues, "and force us into the Texas compassionate use program if we don't want to use (medical) marijuana."

Houston Chronicle (12/07/2024) Heather Fazio, the director of [the Texas Cannabis Policy Center] —a coalition of organizations and activities that advocate for policy reform—said state lawmakers need to redirect their attention to further regulation, not an outright ban. 

"The bottom line is that prohibition has never worked, and this cat is not going back into the bag. We [will] hand over the industry to the illicit market, where we have no opportunity to regulate these products for consumer protection," Fazio noted. "The state is going to have to take a reasonable and more sensible approach to establishing and regulating this industry effectively."

Forbes (11/13/2024)  "Heather Fazio of the group [Texas Cannabis Policy Center] said that 2025 is “likely to be a very consequential legislative session."

"Our state’s cannabis laws are complicated and ineffective,” Fazio told Marijuana Moment. “Thankfully lawmakers are taking the issue seriously and filing bills as soon as possible to get the process started.”

Fox News (9/28/2019) Heather Fazio, who has been advocating for marijuana legalization in Texas and elsewhere for years as part of the group Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy, says she agrees with Abbott’s interpretation but is nonetheless encouraged by what she’s seeing.

“I find myself agreeing with the Governor, this doesn’t decriminalize statewide,” Fazio said, noting that the hemp bill that started it all was supported by members of both parties.