Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Vikki Goodwin rallied a crowd at the High Horse Ice House on Tuesday, telling attendees that Texans — especially veterans and people with terminal illnesses — should have access to recreational cannabis. Goodwin did not mince words about her Republican rival, incumbent Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, telling the crowd he wants to ban THC, and she wants to ban him.
The San Antonio stop, first reported by the San Antonio Current, came three weeks before Election Day as Goodwin accused Patrick of repeatedly blocking marijuana reform in Texas. Patrick sets the Senate agenda in his role as lieutenant governor and has fought for a statewide ban on consumable cannabinoids including delta-8, delta-9 and delta-10, according to the same report. Goodwin, who has represented District 47 in western Travis County in the Texas House since 2019 and is now serving her fourth legislative term, won the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor in May, according to her Wikipedia biography.
A Visit to a Legal Cannabinoid Shop on the St. Mary's Strip
Before the rally, Goodwin visited the owners of Lazydaze Coffeeshop, a legal cannabinoid distributor on the St. Mary's Strip, to hear about the uncertainty and struggles facing small businesses amid Patrick's policy battles, the San Antonio Current reported. Goodwin said Patrick's repeated attempts to ban THC harm Texans and disregard cannabis's medical benefits, and she shared a personal anecdote about a friend who gave her cancer-stricken neighbor a CBD product that helped manage pain.
Goodwin told the crowd she supports the hemp industry but called for stronger regulation, including an age requirement of 21 or older for hemp products and packaging that clearly tells consumers what the products contain, per the same report. The pitch places her squarely at odds with Patrick, who described consumable cannabinoid products as poison during a 2025 press conference at the Texas Capitol, according to the San Antonio Current's account.
Abbott's Veto and the Texas Supreme Court's Ruling
Patrick championed Senate Bill 3 in 2025, a measure that included an outright ban on most THC-containing products, but Governor Greg Abbott vetoed it. In his veto proclamation, Abbott said the proposed ban suffered from legal defects that would trigger prolonged court litigation similar to federal challenges in Arkansas, according to The Texas Tribune, exposing a rare public rift between Abbott and Patrick.
The fight didn't end there. In May, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the Texas Department of State Health Services could outlaw smokable cannabinoid products and most other THC-containing items, though the decision excepted low-dose delta-9 drinks and gummies from the permitted bans. Patrick supported that ruling, per the San Antonio Current. Former NFL running back Ricky Williams had separately urged Abbott to veto Senate Bill 3, arguing a ban would harm military veterans managing PTSD and chronic pain patients, a plea Hoodline previously reported on.
Felony Risk for Vape Pens, Even as Hemp Sales Expand
The stakes for everyday Texans are significant. Under Texas Health and Safety Code § 481.116, possessing extracted THC concentrates or liquid vape cartridges carries felony penalties beginning at a state jail felony for amounts under one gram, according to FindLaw, unlike small amounts of raw plant marijuana flower, which are treated as Class B misdemeanors. The law categorizes non-plant THC extracts under Penalty Group 2 alongside controlled substances like psilocybin.
Meanwhile, the state's medical marijuana program has expanded. Effective September 1, 2025, House Bill 46 replaced the Texas Compassionate Use Program's old 1% THC-by-weight cap with a limit of 10 milligrams of THC per dose and 1,000 milligrams per package, while adding chronic pain and Crohn's disease as qualifying conditions, according to the Marijuana Policy Project. Separately, updated Texas Department of State Health Services rules taking effect July 31, 2026, permitted consumable hemp products with up to 0.3 percent delta-9 THC while maintaining state prohibitions on synthetic THC products.
Polling Shows a Tight Race and a Divided Electorate
An October 13 Texas Politics Project poll found Goodwin leading Patrick by three percentage points, per the San Antonio Current's reporting. That edge comes against a backdrop of broader public sentiment on cannabis: an April 2025 University of Texas/Texas Politics Project survey found that 84 percent of registered Texas voters supported legalizing marijuana under some circumstances, with 51 percent favoring full recreational or general use and 33 percent backing medical use only, according to Marijuana Moment. Only 15 percent said marijuana should remain entirely illegal.
That same April 2025 polling found 50 percent of Texas voters opposed outlawing the production and sale of consumable hemp-based cannabis products, while 34 percent favored a ban — numbers that run counter to Patrick's repeated push to eliminate consumable cannabinoids statewide. Attorney General Ken Paxton has separately sued multiple Texas municipalities, including Dallas, Austin and San Marcos, arguing that local ballot measures and police non-prosecution policies for minor marijuana possession violate state drug laws and the Texas Constitution, according to the Texas Attorney General's office.
Eckhardt Brings a Family History to the Stage
Also attending the San Antonio rally was Sarah Eckhardt, the Austin-area state senator running as the Democratic candidate for comptroller against Republican Don Huffines. Eckhardt told the crowd that Texans believe in independence, invoking her mother, Nadine Eckhardt, a progressive activist and author who was born in 1931 and died in 2018. Nadine grew marijuana in her own backyard during Sarah Eckhardt's childhood and used the plant for much of her life, according to the San Antonio Current's reporting.
With early voting running October 19 through October 30 and Election Day set for November 3, Goodwin is betting that cannabis policy — and her direct challenge to Patrick's record — can help Democrats break a streak that has held since Bob Bullock last won reelection as lieutenant governor in 1994. Republicans have controlled every statewide executive office in Texas for more than three decades, a backdrop that looms over Goodwin's campaign as she courts voters in cities like San Antonio.
