Hundreds of Austinites stand to lose their jobs if a bill banning consumable THC products is signed into law.

Senate Bill 3 was sent to the governor’s desk Sunday. Unless it’s vetoed, the measure will close a loophole in the state’s hemp law that has allowed dozens of cannabis shops to legally sell marijuana in Austin since 2019.

The bill is one of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s top priorities. Gov. Greg Abbott has not indicated whether he’ll sign it.

One estimate suggests SB 3 will cost 50,000 Texans their jobs. Greg Autry, CEO of Sweet Sensi — a cannabis shop on Congress Avenue — believes the number will be far higher. Not only would his shop’s 42 employees be let go, but so could workers at the packaging and design company Autry contracts with and his security personnel.

“I’ve never been more disappointed to be a Texan in my life,” Autry said.

Sweet Sensi employee Nicole Cosper said the prospect was “extremely disheartening.”

“I’m a mom of two, so this is my livelihood,” she said. “I put food on the table, I pay for field trips, kids clothes. I pay my bills with this job.”

Proponents of SB 3, like Rep. Tom Oliverson, R-Cypress, say it will put an end to high-concentration THC products being sold at gas stations, vape shops and corner stores. These products are often sold in candy-like packaging and marketed to children, he said, and have led to an uptick in poison control calls statewide.

“Let’s be clear, no social good comes from the legalization of intoxicants. What began in 2019 as a bipartisan effort to support Texas agriculturehas since been hijacked by a cottage industry of unregulated THC sellers,” he said. “These substances are not medicine, they are psychosis-inducing, overdose-prone chemicals masquerading as relief.”

But Autry said he fears an outright ban will only bolster illegal sales while eliminating reputable sellers with state licenses. (Autry said Sweet Sensi has licenses from both the Texas Department of Agriculture and the Texas Department of Health.)

Sweet Sensi doesn’t sell products with more than 10 milligrams of THC in them.

“Let’s regulate it and make sure that veterans get their medicine, make sure that people who are recovering from alcoholism have an alternative and make sure our employees don’t lose their jobs,” Autry said.

Todd Harris, co-owner of cannabis shop Happy Cactus, is also pushing for tighter regulation. Without strong state guardrails, Harris said, he has been regulating his business himself. (Harris was put to the test when Patrick entered Happy Cactus in March to ask how many children buy the store’s products and was subsequently carded, the Houston Chronicle reported.)

With an all-out ban, Harris said he will have to let go of his 14 employees.

Staying open under the restrictions of SB 3 will be next to impossible. The bill allows only the sale of CBD and CBG — chemical compounds found in cannabis that do not get people high. That accounts for just 1% of Happy Cactus’ sales, Harris said.

He’ll also lose thousands of dollars. If there are any remaining THC products on Sept. 1, Harris said he will have to destroy them. Happy Cactus also pays about $3,000 a month for rent, and there are two years left on the lease.

“All these shops are going to have to rely on landlords being compassionate … but then it’s going to harm a lot of landlords, too,” Harris said.

If the bill becomes law, Autry will pivot to his Plan B, which is converting Sweet Sensi into a cannabis-themed bar, so he can retain some of his employees as bartenders — though he’s not happy about that.

“I don’t want to sell alcohol, and my message will be ‘drink a bunch of water, don’t drink that much alcohol,’ which might put me out of business,” he said. “But I’m gonna try to make it work for my people.”

Autry is holding out some hope for Plan A — business as usual because Abbott has vetoed the bill.

“I would beg and hope that the governor would see companies like we’ve established, that don’t sell 50-60 milligram gummies, that want regulation … I would hope that he would see that there’s a majority of us,” Autry said.

“But I don’t have faith that that’s actually going to happen.”