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No way Texans are going to let this happen, right?
Come January, Texas legislators will have at least three mellow bills on their docket.
Thanks to Heather Fazio and her team at the Texas chapter of the Marijuana Policy Project, three separate cannabis reform bills – representing three degrees of progress away from present-day Drug War policies – will be pre-filed in Austin for the beginning of the 84th Legislative Session of the Lone Star State. Because the Texas legislature meets only once every two years, the upcoming session will represent the only chance to pass major reform before 2017.
The three bills, which are succinctly summarized at Houston Press, offer three basic options: decriminalization, medical reform, or adult-use legalization.
The “Civil Penalty” bill would reduce the penalty for possession of less than one ounce of cannabis to a $100 fine and would result in no criminal record or prejudicial treatment for future employment or educational opportunities.
The “Medical Marijuana” bill would shield patients with qualifying conditions from arrest for possession of up to 2.5 ounces and would authorize dispensaries.
Finally, the “Free Market” bill – so named, presumably, because of traditional Texan distaste for both taxes and regulations – would treat cannabis in a way similar to alcohol, authorizing sales to adults 21 and over but maintaing DUI prohibitions on the books. Presumably, Texan counties which have voted to remain “dry” jurisdictions free of alcohol sales could do the same for cannabis sales as well.
The idea of legal cannabis sales in the Lone Star State may seem far-fetched, but polls show Texas voters are ready for a change: recently, 58% of Texans reported they were in favor of medical cannabis reform, while 61% favored decriminalization.
Come January, Texas legislators will have at least three mellow bills on their docket.
Thanks to Heather Fazio and her team at the Texas chapter of the Marijuana Policy Project, three separate cannabis reform bills – representing three degrees of progress away from present-day Drug War policies – will be pre-filed in Austin for the beginning of the 84th Legislative Session of the Lone Star State. Because the Texas legislature meets only once every two years, the upcoming session will represent the only chance to pass major reform before 2017.
The three bills, which are succinctly summarized at Houston Press, offer three basic options: decriminalization, medical reform, or adult-use legalization.
The “Civil Penalty” bill would reduce the penalty for possession of less than one ounce of cannabis to a $100 fine and would result in no criminal record or prejudicial treatment for future employment or educational opportunities.
The “Medical Marijuana” bill would shield patients with qualifying conditions from arrest for possession of up to 2.5 ounces and would authorize dispensaries.
Finally, the “Free Market” bill – so named, presumably, because of traditional Texan distaste for both taxes and regulations – would treat cannabis in a way similar to alcohol, authorizing sales to adults 21 and over but maintaing DUI prohibitions on the books. Presumably, Texan counties which have voted to remain “dry” jurisdictions free of alcohol sales could do the same for cannabis sales as well.
The idea of legal cannabis sales in the Lone Star State may seem far-fetched, but polls show Texas voters are ready for a change: recently, 58% of Texans reported they were in favor of medical cannabis reform, while 61% favored decriminalization.
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