IndustryDevelopments | International & State Texas Judge Lora Livingston in Austin sided with several hemp companies that challenged the 2019 ban on smokable hemp passed by Texas lawmakers. The judge's ruling throws out that law and a resulting rule from the Texas health department that sought to enforce the statute. The decision creates opportunities for hemp manufacturers in Texas. Chelsie Spencer, a Dallas-area attorney who represented hemp plaintiffs, told Hemp Industry Daily, " Consumers were freely able to purchase and consume smokable-hemp products in the state of Texas. ... But our Texasbased businesses were not allowed to manufacturer, process, distribute or retail smokable hemp. " Washington The state's regulatory agency alerted business owners that it will transition away by the end of the year from Akerna's Leaf Data Systems platform to one developed and maintained by regulators. The state has been paying Akerna $50,000 a month in subscription services for the traceability contract. The new system is derived from a workaround that regulators developed in 2017, when BioTrackTHC, which had the traceability contract with the state for three years, failed to reach an agreement with the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board. The in-house Cannabis Central Reporting System is intended to reduce the complexity of traceability reporting.