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Hemp flower and other smokable forms of cannabis are no longer allowed to be sold in Texas. What hasn’t changed, however, is Texas law that says it’s legal to possess those kinds of products. So, can Texans procure these smokables from other states? It’s a complicated answer that we’ll delve into.
UT Austin’s Mexican American and Latina/Latino Studies will soon be consolidated into a new department. Latino Studies scholars and researchers are protesting the changes while planning for the future. We’ll look at the impacts of consolidation at UT Austin and in Texas public schools.
This week in Texas music history, San Antonio rockers join the British Invasion — in disguise. Jason Mellard from the Center for Texas Music History at Texas State University has the story.
Plus, a neighborhood park in West Austin that was once segregated is now named for a Black Austinite and Austin High legend.
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The full transcript of this episode of Austin Signal is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.
Jerry Quijano [00:00:09] Hemp flour and other smokable forms of cannabis are no longer allowed to be sold in Texas. What hasn’t changed, however, is Texas law that says it’s legal to possess those kinds of products. So can Texans procure these smokables from other states? It’s a complicated answer, we’re going to have more about that. And UT Austin’s Mexican American and Latina Latino studies will soon be consolidated into a new department. Latino studies scholars and researchers are protesting the changes while planning for the future. The impacts of consolidation at UT Austin, and in Texas public schools, coming up on today’s show. The Austin Signal is a production of KUT News, hosted by Jerry Quijano. Plus, a neighborhood park in West Austin that was once segregated is now named for a black Austinite and Austin High legend. Come hear his story up next, right here on Austin Signal. Howdy out there! You are tuned in to Austin Signal. Thanks for spending part of your day here with us. I’m your host, Jerry Kehannel. It is Wednesday, it is the first day of April. Hopefully you haven’t been fooled too bad. We’re only bringing you the truth right here on Austin Signal, so thanks for being here with today. Let’s get into the show. Hemp flour, extracts, and other smokable forms of access. But the Texas law that makes it illegal to possess smokable hemp products? Well, that hasn’t changed. So that leaves open a big question for Texas consumers. If state stores cannot sell these products anymore, can Texans still order them online from out of state? As we hear from KUT’s Nathan Bernier, that answer is a little bit complicated.
Nathan Bernier [00:02:01] Even though Texas is banning smokable hemp products, it does not mean bongs across the state are going silent. The new regulations only affect sales and manufacturing. For those who want to order out of state, it’s a bit confusing. State regulators say, no you can’t. Cannabis attorneys say, yes you can, but acknowledge it’s gray area.
Susan Hayes [00:02:22] These rules are concerning licensing, not criminal liability.
Nathan Bernier [00:02:28] Susan Hayes is a lobbyist and lawyer specializing in cannabis law.
Susan Hayes [00:02:32] So whether anyone can be criminally prosecuted for buying products from out of state is still gonna be doubtful and difficult. And I say difficult both for legal reasons and also practical reasons. Most prosecutors, many cops, certainly the majority of the people living in Texas are over this idea of criminalizing a plant.
Nathan Bernier [00:02:56] But the Department of State Health Services says the new rules governing sales and manufacturing also apply to any out-of-state business selling hemp products into Texas. In a statement to KUT News, DSHS spokesperson Lara Anton said, quote, There is no carve-out for mail order, end quote. In other words, not only are out- of-state businesses expected to stop sales of smokable hemp flour into Texas, but they’re also supposed to start paying the new fees imposed on hemp businesses. For retailers, that’s $5,000 per location per year. Attorneys working for the Texas cannabis industry say enforcing that across state lines is going to be hard. Andrea Steele is with The Banks Law Firm in Houston.
Andrea Steele [00:03:35] Had to think about the feasibility and practicality of enforcement and the low-hanging fruit is going to be the enforcement of the people that they can touch right away. And so it’s going to be more difficult to locate and get jurisdiction over an out-of-state company who’s shipping through interstate commerce, which is expressly protected in the 2018 farm bill.
Donald Trump [00:03:56] Is there life for me? That was from the Emmys. I sang Green Acres.
Nathan Bernier [00:04:03] President Trump signed the 2018 Farm Bill into law during a big ceremony at the White House. It was a bipartisan success, something you don’t hear too much about. The 2018 Farm bill legalized hemp nationwide. It also prohibits states from interfering with the transportation of hemp across state lines. Texas adopted a very similar law in 2019. Now, hemp, by the way, is really just a legal term. It’s used to describe cannabis that does not have a lot of Delta 9 THC, which is the main ingredient in weed that gets people high. Less than 0.3% Delta 9 by dry weight, that’s legal hemp. More than 0,3% delta 9 by dried weight, that’s illegal marijuana. But cannabis has dozens of psychoactive compounds, not just Delta 9. There’s also something called THCA. And THCA converts to delta-9 when heated or smoked, and that’s really where most delta- 9 comes from, even in states where marijuana is legal. So the new Texas rules basically treat THCA as delta- 9 for the purposes of selling and making hemp products. That’s why flour and concentrates are banned, and it’s why edibles remain legal to sell. But this is where it gets even more confusing. Those are just regulations, not laws. And they only apply to licensing and registration. The Texas law defining what hemp is has not changed. So possessing smokeable hemp remains legal. And that’s why police departments like Austin’s have not changed how they approach enforcement. Lieutenant Patrick Eastlick oversees APD’s Tactical Intelligence Division.
Patrick Eastlick [00:05:40] No one, an officer or even anyone highly trained can tell the difference between him and marijuana. So just by looking at it, you’re not going to be able to determine that.
Nathan Bernier [00:05:51] They’re the same plant. And Austin doesn’t have expensive testing equipment to measure Delta-9 levels and doesn’t even prioritize marijuana arrests anyway. Eastlick and his colleagues are too busy tracking down fentanyl and methamphetamine. So if Austin police catch someone with cannabis flower or extract, they ask to see the packaging.
Patrick Eastlick [00:06:10] Usually, it will say that it has less than 0.3% THC concentration, so it’s the labeling is the easiest way for officers to be able to distinguish between the two. So it’s why it’s very important for folks who have legal hemp to have the packaging with them when they’re out and about.
Nathan Bernier [00:06:28] If people don’t have the packaging, whether it’s hemp or marijuana, the cannabis will be confiscated and destroyed. The Austin cannabis shop ATX Organics is one of the few hemp retailers in Texas that grows their own plants and makes their own products. Smokable hemp accounted for about 75 percent of the business, according to Brandon who owns ATX Organics.
Brandon Tijerina [00:06:50] 75% of our business is going to be ordered from out of state. Taxpayer money to money that we’ve used to grow this industry is just going to funneled into other states, which is just ridiculous. And then you’re killing jobs, you’re destroying industries. It’s a lot of damage.
Nathan Bernier [00:07:09] So the Texas hemp industry is planning to fight these regulations in court, but had to wait until the rules took effect to file suit. The Texas Hemp Business Council plans to seek an immediate court-ordered pause on the rules, and that suit is expected in the coming days. I’m Nathan Bernier in Austin.
Jerry Quijano [00:07:36] Education in Texas at the collegiate and K-12 level is rearranging, rethinking, and consolidating what students learn from social and ethnic studies. UT Austin, for example, is consolidating their ethnic and gender studies department, while the Texas State Board of Education is revising its social studies curriculum. For more about what’s changing, we’re talking with Greta Diaz-Gonzalez-Vasquez. She is KUT’s education reporter. Greta, thanks for being back on the show with us.
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:08:02] Hey Jerry, happy to be here.
Jerry Quijano [00:08:03] So let’s start first with what’s happening here at UT Austin. Can you remind us what has been going on with the UT ethnic studies departments?
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:08:11] Yeah. So back in February, UT announced the consolidation of seven departments into two. And one of those departments is the Mexican American and Latina Latino studies known as mouse. That’s how I’m going to talk about it. Mouse.
Jerry Quijano [00:08:22] Okay, mouse.
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:08:23] And it will be consolidated with other three departments including African and African Diaspora Studies, American Studies, and Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies, and they will become the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis. And so when this was announced back in February, U.T. President Jim Davis also said the curriculum would be reviewed to determine what majors, minors, and courses would be offered at the new departments.
Jerry Quijano [00:08:47] Okay, and you have been following this story all along. You can find more from Gretta’s reporting at KUT.org. Your most recent story was about a conference that took place here in Austin. And along with that conference, there was also a protest held on campus. What was that protest about?
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:09:03] Yeah, so I want to talk about the conference first because yeah, last week UT hosted the bi-annual national Latina Latinx Latino Studies Association meeting and organizers said that more than 600 academics registered to come to the conference making it one of the biggest Latino studies conferences in the country.
Jerry Quijano [00:09:20] Okay.
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:09:21] And so during that conference, yes, there was a protest, so researchers from all over the country protested the elimination of Miles. And the president of the association, David Vasquez, who’s a professor at American University in Washington, DC, told me that it was important for them to hold a meeting at UT as part of to show solidarity with the UT community, but also to show the importance of the program at UT. And let me give you context. So at UT, Latino studies started in the 70s, and it started because of community pressure. And so it started with the Center of Mexican-American Studies. And since then, it has been home to some of the best Chicano, Chicana, and Latino scholars in the world, in the country, but in the word. And it became a department in 2014, and students have, PhD students I have talked to have noted that it’s the only department in Texas. One of the few in the country to offer a PhD in Latino studies. So for them during this protest it was important to say this is a very important department not only in Texas but in the country.
Jerry Quijano [00:10:29] Well, what is the future of that department look like? The consolidation was announced back in February and things have been happening slowly. What does the future look like for that department?
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:10:41] So we know that it will be eliminated, but there’s still a lot that we don’t know. When the announcement was made, UT officials said current students would be able to graduate from the programs that they’re involved in. But as I said, I’ve talked to PhD students and they worry that that might not be the case. They have tried talking with UT official, but have not succeeded to have in-person meetings. And they worry about their research, research funds, and also of course, undergraduate students in which classes they’ll be able to teach. And we’ve also heard from some faculty, including Karma Chavez, who teaches at Miles, that told us that faculty have been asked to review current majors and propose what majors will be offered in the future. And we’re currently looking into this, and we hope to know more about it soon.
Jerry Quijano [00:11:27] Okay, well we will bring you that reporting here on Austin Signal whenever we have it. Again, you can read the latest from Greta over at KUT.org, and we’re going to have a link in today’s podcast, Show Notes. I want to ask you now about the Texas State Board of Education. What’s going on there with their social studies curriculum, excuse me?
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:11:44] Yeah, so the State Board of Education is reviewing the K-12 Social Studies Curriculum, and it’s also known as the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills. So sometimes you hear about people talking about TEKS, that’s what they mean, the curriculum. Yeah, this is something that happens every few years. State education officials review standards, not only for social studies, but also for math, for English, for other things. And the Board of education tasks nine appointed content advisors to guide the curriculum and also two workgroups. Group A and work group B that will give feedback on the changes. And I have talked to some content advisors and some members of the work groups who have raised concerns about the process and how changes are said to happen this time.
Jerry Quijano [00:12:28] Yeah, whatever they had to say.
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:12:29] Yeah, so the biggest change that is happening is the framework. Now students will learn things chronologically. So that means kinder through second grade, they will learn about what they called American Indians because there are certain words they’re not using, like indigenous. One of the content advisors told me that they’re are not allowed to use indigenous or Native American. And they’re also going to learn about the exploration of America and Texas. And then third to eighth grade, once again, Chronologically, we’ll learn about the U.S. And Texas. Starting with the birth of Western civilization.
Jerry Quijano [00:13:02] Okay, okay, so what happens next? Is that a done deal or is that curriculum still being worked on? What happens next.
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:13:09] They’re still working on the curriculum. They’re taking feedback from people. People have worried that it’s too heavy, that there’s a lot of content, that it takes us focus, that the chronological order doesn’t really work out in education because they might be too abstract for little kids. But the board is set to do a first reading on April 6th, so next Tuesday. And they also have to vote on it no later than June. Sorry, that’s next Monday. April 6 is a Monday.
Jerry Quijano [00:13:39] Okay, okay, yeah, it’s just today’s April 1st. Lots going on. Okay, so April 6th is the Monday, and then, can you repeat that last part about June?
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:13:46] Yeah. And they have to vote on it now later than June. So we still have a long way to go. And I must also say whatever they approve won’t go into effect until 2030. It’s not something immediate because they also have to create textbooks and all these changes. So it’s going to take a little bit.
Jerry Quijano [00:14:02] Okay, well, we will bring you those changes whenever we know more about them. And we have been speaking with Greta Diaz-Gonzalez-Vasquez. She is KUT’s education reporter. We’re gonna have more about her reporting in today’s podcast, Show Notes, in at kut.org slash signal. Thank you, Greta.
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:14:18] Thank you, Jerry.
Jerry Quijano [00:14:19] And thank you out there for tuning in to Austin Signal. We will be back after a break. This is Austin Signal, welcome back. The Sir Douglas Quintet got its start down I-35 in San Antonio, but the band and its characters have become inextricably linked to the Austin of yesteryear, when maybe things really were cooler and weirder. And though there’s no argument that the quintet’s sound is quintessentially Texan, they had to blend in to the British Invasion to grab some attention. Here’s Jason Medlard from the Center for Texas Music History. At Texas State University.
Jason Mellard [00:15:08] This weekend in Texas music history, San Antonio rockers joined the British Invasion in disguise. On April 2nd, 1965, the Sir Douglas quintet single, She’s About a Mover, entered the billboard charts. Doug Sam led the quintet and the young man was no stranger to the spotlight. He’d been a steel guitar prodigy, learning the instrument at five, hanging out with Hank Williams, and earning an invitation to the Grand Ole Opry. He’d pivoted to garage rock after turning the invite down and was joined in the 1965 quintet by Augie Myers on Vox Organ, Jack Barber, Frank Marin, and Johnny Perez. The group made music in the mold of San Antonio’s Chicano soul and westside sound, but Orquesta Tejana met rhythm and blues. You can hear it in the track, the way that Augie’s organ and Barber’s bass line play off one another just as an accordion of Bajos Sexto would in conjunto, all the while channeling Ray Charles’ What I’d Say and the coasters’ hit, Searchin’. Huey Moe, who produced the track, didn’t give it that San Antonio frame, though. Moe had seen his regional record business suffer in the face of the British invasion, and so, in his words, “‘I took a little Philips phonograph, bought all the Beatles’ LPs, went to a motel with a case of Thunderbird wine and sat down to figure out what these cats were into. After two days of drinking and listening, I got it. They were playing the beat on the beat.’” He then called up Doug Som, told him to start growing his hair in a Beatle Bob and write a song like that. The band dressed in mod suits and Chelsea boots and wouldn’t reveal their drawers with stage banter. The Sir Douglas quintet would come off as British lad.
Radio announcer [00:16:40] Hallabaloo proudly presents, the Sir Douglas Queen Tip!
Jason Mellard [00:16:49] The thin ruse may or may not have been why the song caught fire. It didn’t last long, though. The quintet appeared on the TV program Hullabaloo, hosted by fellow Texan Trini Lopez. On a stage that continued the faux-British theme of fabricated castle, models in knight’s armor, Sam and the Boys in full Mercy Beat mode, Lopez came on after the song and told the audience, but I have a surprise for you. Before unmasking Sir Doug as a Texan, I bet we even fooled Lyndon Lopez-Quist. You can hear music from the Lone Star State 24-7 on the Texas Music Experience at TMX.fm.
Sir Doug [00:17:30] Whoa, yeah, what I say!
Jerry Quijano [00:17:43] While football may roll in Texas and basketball is too much fun in March-April, Texans also love them some baseball. The Astros and the Rangers have both won championships in recent years, and Texas is home to eight minor league teams, the third most in the country. Now an Austin baseball legend is getting renewed recognition for his historic career. The city renamed a park in honor of Hall of Famer Don Baylor recently. Texas Standard’s Justin Doud heard from Baylor’s son Don Baylor Jr. About his dad’s enduring legacy and why having his name on this particular park is especially meaningful.
Sir Doug [00:18:24] Me out to the bar game take
Radio announcer [00:18:29] 0-1 to Baylor. Curveball missed outside from Tia. I tell you, Baylor has always been one of my favorite players in the big room. I’ve really enjoyed watching him. He’s a hard player Howard, he’s a tough guy.
Don Baylor Jr. [00:18:39] He grew up here in Austin, attended Austin High School, integrated O’Henry in the mid-60s, got drafted. His first full season was 1972 with the Baltimore Orioles. Fast forward to 1979, that was his MVP year and really kind of a magical year.
Radio announcer [00:18:57] Don Baylor. Don Baylor That gets the crowd up.
Don Baylor Jr. [00:19:04] As a kid, I remember some of that. I was only about six or seven at the time. But I do remember how exciting that particular year was. And then got traded to the Red Sox in 1986. I remember that like it was yesterday. It was a very heartbreaking year. I’m sure people always remember game six of the 1986 World Series when the ball goes through Bill Buckner’s legs.
Radio announcer [00:19:27] Five five in a delirious 10th inning. Can you believe this ball game a shame. Oh brother three and two to Mookie Wilson little roller up along first behind the bag. It gets through but.
Don Baylor Jr. [00:19:46] That year started the first of three years where he was in three consecutive World Series but with three different teams. Went on to the Twins later in 1987 where they ended up winning the World Series and you know he played a pretty prominent part.
Radio announcer [00:20:03] To deep left!
Don Baylor Jr. [00:20:09] Watching baseball, I probably thought that was the best team I’d ever seen up until that point.
Radio announcer [00:20:13] Don Baylor’s first home run as a twin, as that graphic showed you, the last one, a grand slammer, and Boston off Steve Pearl.
Don Baylor Jr. [00:20:28] He was born in 1949 in Clarksville. Clarksville was the oldest Freedmen’s community west of the Mississippi, so it is kind of a cloister, if you will, in West Austin. There were no parks in Clark’sville. They played in the street, they played in vacant lots. Sometimes they would go to Butler Park in South Austin to play. Clarks’ville had few amenities, but a lot of love. Finally, when desegregation began to come to Austin, this is probably about eight, nine years after Brown versus Board, is when I think most campuses became to be desegregated and one of those was O’Henry. He was over the moon that he could actually go. He could actually walk to school. So he was one of three to integrate that, integrate O’henry. You know, I think he had good fortune to be going to Austin High when he did, but baseball’s a different sport. It’s not like football where you go to a game and you come back. Baseball, you gotta go on road trips. You have to stay in hotels. That was not something that was even feasible at that point. You know, every time we would drive on Wednesday, he would point out that park as being really a symbol of Jim Crow. Right? He’s like, you know, that was where the water fountains were segregated. That’s where the bathrooms were segregated, but that’s also where I couldn’t go and play. If you look at the map, right, this is right across the railroad tracks from Clarksville. And back then before Mopac, you could just walk across the railway tracks. And so that park has, you of really deep significance. Not just for him, but I think for the whole family that grew up in Clarksville, when that park was really off limits. He’s had the most accomplished sports career of anyone that’s ever was born or raised in Austin. So I think it was only a matter of time before we found the right moment and found the the right forum to recognize his accomplishments.
Jerry Quijano [00:22:56] That was the voice of Don Baylor Jr., son of Austin baseball legend Don Baylor. The story was produced by Texas Standard’s Justin Doud, we’re going to have a link to more in our podcast show notes and at kut.org slash signal. Before we get out of here today, we didn’t have enough time in yesterday’s show to mention that the Texas women’s basketball team advanced to their second consecutive Final Four. The Longhorns are in Phoenix and will take the court again on Friday against UCLA. The Bruins have only lost one game this season. That was an 11 point loss to the Longhorn in the early part of the year. Texas vs UCLA Friday night tip off scheduled for 6.30. That is it for today’s show. Thank you for making us part of your Wednesday. Rayna Sevilla is our technical director and Kristen Cabrera is our managing producer. I’m your host Jerry Quijano, we will be back with you tomorrow, have a wonderful day.
This transcript was transcribed by AI, and lightly edited by a human. Accuracy may vary. This text may be revised in the future.
