Doctor of Sedation, Dictator of Weed Policy

Written By Stone Slade  Watch Today's LIVE Episode on YouTube, X and Rumble

June 26. 2025

In Texas, where politics already feel like a poorly written reality show, we’ve now reached the

point where Dr. Tom Oliverson, an anesthesiologist from Cypress, who is also Dan Patrick’s

neighbor is the Legislature’s go-to voice on all things cannabis.

Because apparently, if you know how to knock someone out for surgery, you’re automatically

qualified to write policy on a plant that interacts with a biological system most lawmakers can't

even pronounce.

That system, by the way, is called the endocannabinoid system. It regulates things like sleep,

appetite, memory, and pain. It’s present in all mammals, and it’s the whole reason cannabis

works. But don’t expect Oliverson to mention it during a committee hearing. He’s too busy

fearmongering about “psychosis-inducing chemicals” and quoting himself in op-eds like he’s the Surgeon General of Reefer Madness.

And here's the kicker. The endocannabinoid system isn’t even taught in most U.S. medical

schools. Not because it doesn’t matter. It absolutely does. But because of decades of political

suppression fueled by prohibitionists like Oliverson and his partner in panic, Lieutenant

Governor Dan Patrick.

Thanks to their fear-based agenda, generations of doctors have graduated with zero education on how cannabis actually works in the human body. And now, those same under-informed doctors are shaping laws that affect millions of Texans.

Oliverson’s latest crusade? A total ban on hemp-derived THC products in Texas. Not regulation. Not age limits. Not childproof packaging or potency caps. Just a flat-out ban. This from a guy whose party claims to stand for small government and personal freedom. Apparently, that freedom stops when it smells like weed.

Meanwhile, Dan Patrick is throwing actual bags of THC gummies at reporters like he’s hosting. Fear Factor. After Governor Abbott vetoed Senate Bill 3, which would have banned all hemp-derived THC products, Patrick completely lost it.

He said, and I quote, “One can only come to this conclusion... the governor of the state of Texas wants to legalize recreational marijuana.”

Then he went even further, suggesting the hemp industry might be a terrorist money-laundering cartel-driven scheme. Because, you know, your local CBD shop is clearly run by El Chapo. He also made it clear he doesn’t care who’s making these legal products, saying, “We don’t know who’s making this stuff... we don’t know what’s in it.”

Which is hilarious, because that’s literally what regulation is supposed to address. Governor

Abbott even said as much, calling for a system similar to alcohol, with licensing, packaging

rules, and age restrictions. You know, common sense stuff. But Patrick doesn’t want a

conversation. He wants a crusade.

Instead, he's out here peddling a boogeyman fantasy where THC turns Texas into Portland and work ethic into soup. Never mind the fact that veterans, cancer patients, and folks with chronic pain are using these products legally and responsibly. To Patrick and Oliverson, they’re just collateral damage in their war on weed. And let’s not forget, this “medical expert” Oliverson isn’t a neurologist, or a pharmacologist, or even a cannabis researcher. He doesn’t treat patients with cannabis. He just happens to be a doctor who sedates people. That’s it. But in Texas, if you’ve got an “M.D.” after your name and a grudge against weed, that’s apparently all the credibility you need.

What Oliverson is good at is parroting prohibitionist talking points from 1992. He’s claimed

Texas hemp shops are selling “psychosis-inducing, overdose-prone chemicals.” He says

unregulated cannabinoids pose an “existential threat to public health.” And he warns that patients using these products are self-medicating their way into failure.

It all sounds terrifying, until you remember there are mountains of real-world data from other

states that have legalized and regulated cannabis without spontaneously combusting.

Because the truth is, Oliverson’s stance isn’t about public health. If it were, he’d be working with toxicologists and cannabis researchers to build smart, responsible policy. Instead, he’s blocking those conversations and doubling down on bans.

You can’t claim to care about safety while refusing to regulate the thing you’re afraid of.

And you really can’t ignore the irony here. The same lawmakers calling cannabis a danger to

children are the ones pushing for fewer gun laws. In their world, an 18-year-old can buy a rifle,

but God forbid they buy a 5-milligram THC gummy to sleep through their back pain.

So while actual doctors, scientists, and patients are out here screaming for facts and regulation.

Texas lawmakers are standing around a guy who’s never written a cannabis prescription in his

life, while a lieutenant governor warns that Delta-8 is probably a tool of ISIS.

It’d be hilarious if it weren’t so dangerous. These aren’t just fringe rants anymore. These are the people writing laws that affect cancer patients, veterans, and parents of epileptic children who’ve found real relief in cannabinoids when nothing else worked.

And yes, there’s a special session coming up on July 21. Expect more hysteria, more

misinformation, and maybe a PowerPoint presentation about cartel gummies. But definitely

expect more Texans asking the same question.

How the hell did we get here?

Spoiler alert. It’s because we keep letting the loudest guy in the room pretend he’s the smartest. And in Texas, that guy happens to have a medical degree, a microphone, and absolutely no understanding of the plant he’s so desperate to wipe out.