AUSTIN, Texas — A three-day court hearing starting Tuesday morning at the Travis County Courthouse will determine whether Texas hemp businesses can keep operating under a temporary pause of new state health rules that restrict smokable hemp products.

Texas hemp advocacy groups are seeking a temporary injunction to block rule changes from the Texas Department of State Health Services that took effect at the end of March. The changes ban the sale of smokable hemp products, require other hemp products to be sold in child-proof packaging, and significantly increase costs for manufacturers.

David Sergi, an attorney for the hemp advocacy groups with Sergi & Associates PC, said, “We are going to be here tomorrow to bring justice to Texas hemp.” Sergi said the dispute centers on how the state redefined THC limits and testing requirements.

“What we disagree with is cutting the heart out of the hemp industry by redefining what the appropriate amount of THC is and how it’s calculated,” he said.

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Some anti-commercial marijuana groups support the rule changes. Iman Lohrasbi, a state policy associate with Smart Approaches to Marijuana, said, “Obviously, I think these products, the smokable hemp products, should be banned…These are not good for people of the country, especially not in Texas either.”

Hemp advocacy groups argue the changes could effectively end the industry. They filed a lawsuit on April 9, and a temporary restraining order was later granted. The order applies to a new testing requirement that created a 0.3% THC threshold, which eliminated smokable products

“We’re doing this for not only the industry but also our clients and our customers,” Sergi said.

He also said he believes a judge will quickly grant a temporary injunction to continue suspending the rule changes, arguing, “The Department of Health acted ultra vires or beyond its authority in redefining how to classify hemp.”

The temporary restraining order remains in place until May 1, leaving uncertainty about enforcement after that date if a temporary injunction is not granted.

Ahead of Tuesday’s hearing, the Texas Department of State Health Services said it does not comment on active litigation.

Tuesday’s hearing is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. If a temporary injunction is granted, the next step in the case would be an effort to permanently suspend the hemp rule changes.

A shooting at an Austin BBQ restaurant has left two people injured and law enforcement is looking for the person responsible.

Over time, the brain gradually loses some of its sharpness. But new research from Texas A&M University suggests that decline may be reversible with a nasal spray.

In a recent study published in the Journal of Extracellular Vesicles, researchers examined “neuroinflammaging,” a slow, chronic inflammation in the brain that builds with age and contributes to memory and cognitive decline. The researchers developed a nasal spray containing microscopic particles derived from neural stem cells. Mice at 18 months of age — roughly equivalent to 60-year-old humans — received the treatment. Compared with untreated mice, those given the spray showed reduced markers of brain inflammation and improvements in memory and cognitive function. The benefits appeared within weeks and persisted for months after just two doses.

“We are seeing the brain’s own repair systems switch on, healing inflammation and restoring itself,” Ashok Shetty, professor of cell biology and genetics at Texas A&M, said in a news release. “As we develop and scale this therapy, a simple, two-dose nasal spray could one day replace invasive, risky procedures or maybe even months of medication.”

With people living longer, age-related brain diseases like dementia and Alzheimer’s are becoming more common. Studies estimate that about 42% of Americans over 55 will develop dementia, and as the population ages, the number of new cases each year is expected to double — from about 514,000 in 2020 to roughly 1 million by 2060.