Law Texas

[momofthegoons]

Austin to consider stopping arrests, tickets in low-level marijuana cases after hemp law

As Texas law enforcement grapples with how to determine whether a substance is marijuana after lawmakers legalized hemp last year, one city’s officials are putting forward their own solution: effectively decriminalize possession of small amounts of pot altogether.

The Austin City Council will vote on a proposal later this month that, if approved, would “virtually end arrests and fines” by city police for possession of personal amounts of cannabis, according to a summary and copy of the measure obtained by The Texas Tribune.

The resolution, raised by four progressive members of the 11-member council, would largely direct police to stop arresting people or issuing citations in low-level marijuana possession cases in which officers won’t be able to get lab reports to chemically distinguish between now-legal hemp and illegal marijuana. It also would forbid the city from spending funds or using its personnel to perform such tests.

“If there’s no intent to sell or distribute, we’re not going to mess with it,” said Greg Casar, the lead sponsor of the proposal.

The move is a direct result of lawmakers’ legalization of hemp last June, the resolution states. That state law, focused on implementing a hemp agriculture industry in Texas, also narrowed the definition of marijuana from the cannabis plant to cannabis that contains more than 0.3% THC, the psychoactive ingredient in the plant that produces a high.

The change in statute has led numerous Texas prosecutors, including those in Austin’s Travis County, to require lab reports on THC concentration levels before pursuing misdemeanor marijuana charges. They similarly argue circumstantial evidence like smell can no longer be used to authoritatively say something is marijuana.

Near Amarillo last month, for example, a man was arrested and jailed for a monthon suspicion of hauling 3,350 pounds of marijuana, but testing and a lab report revealed the substance was in fact legal hemp.

El Paso’s district attorney has claimed this testing is not essential, and Gov. Greg Abbott and other state leaders bolstered his argument in a letter chastising prosecutors for dropping low-level marijuana cases or putting them on hold after the new hemp law. The hemp bill’s Senate sponsor said prosecutors have used the law as political cover to essentially legalize marijuana in their counties. Abbott did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Austin’s proposal.

Still, many prosecutors are requiring the piece of paper from a crime lab, and Texas’ government-run labs haven’t quite yet ironed out a method for testing hemp versus marijuana. They are able to determine if THC is in a substance, but not how much. In the meantime, new misdemeanor pot cases are being rejected by some prosecutors or held in limbo waiting for lab testing.

But that doesn’t mean police have stopped arresting or citing people, including in Austin. Some people are still taken to jail but then released, and no charges are pursued.

Some city police departments are paying more money to utilize the few private labs that can perform such testing. For example, Plano’s City Council in North Texas and Montgomery County’s commissioners near Houston have both approved providing more funding for local law enforcement to acquire these new tests that weren’t often required in personal-use pot cases before.

Casar said Austin shouldn’t be spending taxpayer money on the issue.

“Most Texas voters want to see marijuana legalized. Most Texas voters don’t want to see counties or cities dedicating extra resources to marijuana cases,” he said. “We’re simply doing what we believe is right given the situation.”

Two more members of the council would need to vote in favor of the resolution for it to take effect. If approved Jan. 23, the city would have until May 1 to update its guidelines and train Austin police officers to almost fully stop arresting or citing people for suspected marijuana possession.

Currently, the Austin Police Department still cites or arrests people who are suspected of possessing marijuana, APD Chief of Staff Troy Gay told the Tribune on Friday. Last year, APD Chief Brian Manley told the Austin American-Statesmanthat he does not support nonenforcement.

“I do not believe as the police chief in Austin that I would be making our city any safer by not enforcing the law,” he told the Statesman.

In recent years, Austin police have pivoted toward a cite-and-release program for misdemeanor marijuana offenses, meaning officers may issue a ticket detailing when the person should arrive in court to face criminal prosecution instead of arresting him or her.

City police are still making those enforcement actions since the law took effect, but the county attorney has filed only four misdemeanor marijuana possession cases since July, according to data from the Texas Office of Court Administration. More than 1,000 were filed in the first half of 2019.

In Dallas, where the local district attorney had said before the hemp law was enacted that he would not pursue first-time marijuana offenses, police are still making arrests as normal, according to a Dallas Police Department spokesperson. The cases, then sent to the prosecutors, are either rejected or sent back until police conduct lab testing.

Other law enforcement agencies, like the Round Rock Police Department just north of Austin, have stopped jailing or citing people for small amounts of marijuana possession. The police chief told the Statesman that he wants to enforce the laws but isn’t going to arrest someone who won’t be prosecuted.


By forbidding city funds to pay for testing in a county where the prosecutor requires it, he Austin council proposal would essentially guarantee most low-level pot cases do not move forward. And the resolution would direct police not to make arrests or issue citations in such cases, since they would not be allowed for prosecution.

The measure would not prevent law enforcement officers from taking action when they believe there is an immediate threat to a person’s safety, and it would allow testing in felony-level trafficking cases. Casar said police would also still be able to confiscate suspected marijuana and pursue charges like driving under the influence of marijuana.

Although the resolution doesn’t technically decriminalize marijuana — the proposal’s summary notes that cities aren’t allowed to do that while the drug remains illegal in Texas — it aims to do so effectively. Last year, Texas lawmakers considered but ultimately did not pass a bill to replace criminal penalties with a civil fine for people caught with an ounce or less of marijuana.

If approved, Casar expects the proposal would have an immediate policy impact. In Austin, Class B marijuana possessions have decreased nearly 85% since 2017, and they were reduced further after the Legislature’s hemp law went into effect, he said.

Casar also said he hopes the implementation of the proposal will help Austin’s citizens of color, who are disproportionately arrested or punished for violating marijuana possession laws.

“We can be using our limited resources on making things better for people instead of derailing people’s lives for having a small amount of pot,” he said.

 

[momofthegoons]

Texas state crime labs won’t test suspected marijuana in low-level cases
The Texas Department of Public Safety said last week that it would not perform testing to distinguish between hemp and marijuana in misdemeanor cases.

The Texas Department of Public Safety is almost ready to roll out its long-awaited lab test to tell if cannabis is newly legal hemp or illegal marijuana. But DPS Director Steve McCraw notified Texas law enforcement agencies this month of a crucial caveat: The state labs won’t do testing in misdemeanor marijuana possession cases.

That will likely entrench what has become a patchwork system of marijuana enforcement across the state. Possession of a small amount of pot could mean no criminal charges in one county and jail time in a neighboring one. In Texas, misdemeanor marijuana offenses include possession of up to 4 ounces and the sale or delivery of up to 7 grams.

The situation comes after the Texas Legislature changed the definition of marijuana last year in order to legalize hemp, drawing a new distinction between two substances that can look and smell the same. The illegal drug changed from the cannabis plant to cannabis containing more than 0.3% THC, the compound in the plant that produces a high.

As lawmakers moved that legislation forward, DPS asked them for additional funding to test THC levels — and thus determine if cannabis is marijuana — in both felony and low-level possession cases. McCraw's letter this month said the legislature did not provide money for testing in misdemeanor cases, so “DPS will not have the capacity to accept those.”

Since the law change, prosecutors across the state began taking very different approaches to pursuing marijuana charges. Some are prosecuting pot cases as before, depending on circumstantial evidence without lab results. Others stopped accepting new low-level marijuana cases unless police could hand over a lab report that showed what they had was illegal.

It was a report public labs in Texas couldn’t produce yet, pushing local agencies to costly private labs or leaving pot cases to sit on the shelf as government scientists scrambled to come up with a new test to chemically distinguish legal hemp from illegal marijuana. McCraw said that test is nearly ready, but it’s only for felonies — and only for plant materials, not oils or edibles.

The DPS decision not to accept misdemeanor cases was always a possibility, but “there were some prosecutors that were still holding out hope that they would get some help from the state,” said Shannon Edmonds, director of governmental relations for the Texas District and County Attorneys Association.

“It is yet another unfunded mandate, and it’s another hurdle to successfully prosecuting these cases,” he said.

The new THC test in state labs is expected to be finalized at the end of March, and DPS will need another two months to get it implemented, McCraw said in the letter. Afterward, the agency expects to take about 75 days to test the 845 felony plant cases local agencies have already sent over before moving on to cases sitting in police or prosecutor evidence rooms.

Some law enforcement agencies have already found their own solutions to marijuana enforcement in the months since the law changed. Denton County is one whose district attorney now requires police to submit a lab report before a case will be prosecuted, but it has not stopped arrests, said First Assistant District Attorney Jamie Beck.

“Most of our agencies are using private labs,” she said. “I’m going to assume they’re going to continue doing that.”

Beck said the county has seen a drop in marijuana cases, but not as large as the drop statewide, where cases have plummeted. She said some police agencies in her conservative county aren’t pursuing low-level marijuana cases anymore, but most are pursuing them even though it now costs more to do so.

Big cities often have their own local crime labs, but the DPS labs have long been the testing agency for narcotics for most of Texas, according to Jackson County Sheriff A.J. Louderback. He said the DPS decision and the hemp law have “unequivocally” affected midsize cities to rural communities the most.

“At a minimum, it will affect rural law enforcement who don’t have the resources for this and rural prosecutors,” he said.

But he acknowledged that DPS has limited resources and a history of large backlogs. In his letter, McCraw said DPS labs analyze more than 50,000 felony drug cases a year, and more than 80,000 misdemeanor marijuana arrests occur annually.

DPS told lawmakers last year that it would likely need millions of dollars tied to the hemp bill to be able to differentiate between marijuana and hemp in criminal proceedings.

“DPS can only speculate on the volume of cases where a defendant might claim the substance for which they are arrested is actually hemp,” the agency wrote in a budget request attached to the bill. “Also, DPS labs do not currently routinely test marihuana for misdemeanor charges unless the prosecutor or law enforcement officer makes a special request because it is needed for trial.”

 

[momofthegoons]

El Paso, Texas Lawmakers Approve Measure To Reduce Arrests For Low-Level Marijuana Possession

The El Paso City Council approved a measure on Tuesday that encourages police to issue citations for low-level marijuana cases instead of making arrests.

The cite-and-release proposal passed in a 7-0 vote, with one abstention. It directs the city manager to implement the policy change so that people who commit a Class A or B misdemeanor cannabis possession offense are not immediately sent to jail to be processed.

Advocates say that this will result in less wasted time and resources for law enforcement and reduce the jail population. Individuals cited would still have to appear before a judge at a later date, however.

Statewide legislation that passed in 2007 gives police the discretion to issue citations rather than bring people into custody for these misdemeanor offenses, but some law enforcement agencies have insisted on continuing to lock people up for minor cannabis crimes.

Meanwhile, El Paso isn’t the only city in Texas to push for marijuana reform at the local level while cannabis remains criminalized statewide. The Austin City Council approved a resolution aimed at ending arrests for low-level marijuana possession earlier this year, though the city’s police department said it would continue to make arrests regardless.

The El Paso City Council first took up the cite-and-release proposal in November but, after some disagreement among representatives, initially voted instead to consult with law enforcement and the district attorney’s office to develop recommendations for implementation.

Now that the proposal has been approved this week it is up to the City Manager to come up with an implementation plan and put the policy into effect by September 1.

“Since 2007, all law enforcement officers in Texas have the legal authority and discretion to issue citations, rather than arresting people for small amounts of marijuana,” Heather Fazio, director of Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy, told Marijuana Moment. “They usually don’t use this discretion because of political pressure.”

The text of the El Paso measure states that “arrests for misdemeanor possession of marijuana result in a significant drain on the police department, requiring countless man hours and tax dollars to arrest, transport and book each alleged offender.”

The “City Council still seeks to further the goals of reducing jail population for non-violent offenders and reducing the time offices spend on jail processing procedures, a cite and release program for Class A and Class B misdemeanor possession of marijuana is in the best interest of the City of El Paso and its citizens,” the resolution continues.

Police will have to receive training on how the process will work, and the local government will incur an estimated annual cost of about $2,600 to cover citation books.

El Paso first enacted marijuana prohibition in 1915, well before the federal drug war ramped up.

But in the decades since, the City Council in the Texas border town has seen some interesting leadership on the drug policy reform front. One of the clearest examples is former Councilman Beto O’Rourke (D), who said in 2009 that the violence of the drug war demanded that legislators have a conversation about the possibility of legalizing marijuana and “ending the prohibition of narcotics.”

He was attacked over an amendment he filed to that effect which passed the Council but was later vetoed by the mayor, though the exposure inadvertently helped launch him into the national spotlight, paving the path for his successful run for Congress and eventual 2020 Democratic presidential bid.

The city also currently has a separate policy called the First Chance program. Under that initiative, individuals with no prior convictions who are guilty of low-level cannabis possession can pay a $100 to avoid jail and maintain a clean record.

The Texas House of Representatives approved a marijuana decriminalization bill about a year ago, but it did not advance in the Senate before the end of the 2019 session. Lawmakers are not scheduled to meet in 2020.

“Advocates have to keep working at every level of government to push politicians to do the right thing, including a statewide policy change, banning arrests for marijuana possession,” Fazio said. “Our next shot begins in January 2021.”

Cannabis possession cases have been declining in Texas—but not because marijuana laws have formally changed. Instead, law enforcement are reporting fewer possession cases, and advocates attribute that to the legalization of hemp, which has created complications for police when attempting to determine whether a person is lawfully possessing the non-intoxicating crop or the still-illicit cousin.

Meanwhile, officers with the Texas Department of Public Safety were directed last year not to arrest people for possessing four ounces or less of marijuana and instead issue a citation. Again, this policy change was connected to hemp legalization.

The state’s proposed hemp regulations were approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in January.

 

[momofthegoons]

Texas: Austin Police to Cease Making Arrests or Issuing Citations for Minor Marijuana Offenses

Austin, TX: Officers affiliated with the Austin Police Department will no longer arrest or ticket individuals for minor marijuana possession offenses.

The Department publicly announced the policy change on July 2 in a memorandum issued by the Chief of Police to the Mayor and the City Council. It states, “APD will no longer cite or arrest individuals with sufficient identification for Class A or Class B misdemeanor ‘possession of marijuana’ offenses, unless there is an immediate threat to a person’s safety or doing so as part of the investigation of a high priority, felony-level narcotics case or the investigation of a violent felony.”

State law classifies the possession of small quantities of cannabis as a criminal misdemeanor, punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a criminal record.

Members of the Austin City Council had previously called on the Department to cease taking actions against low-level marijuana violators, but the Police Chief had refused to direct his officers to do so. A member of the Council credited ongoing community engagement by reform advocates as the impetus for the Department’s policy reversal.

“This is an important step forward for Austin,” said Jax Finkel, Executive Director of Texas NORML. “The City used the powers of the purse to pressure APD to do what is best for Austin and to no longer waste taxpayers’ funds on these victimless crimes that have disparately impacted communities of color. Texas NORML was proud to work alongside many local organizations to help push forward this important resolution.”

Additional information is available from Texas NORML.

 

[momofthegoons]

Texas Is Sued For Banning The Sale Of 'Smokable' Hemp Products

New rules prohibiting the retail sale and distribution of "smokable" hemp products are unconstitutional, companies argue in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Travis County.

When Texas legalized hemp last year, the legislation explicitly outlawed manufacturing and processing hemp products meant to be smoked. But rules released Sunday defining the state’s hemp program also banned the sale of these products.

That cut off a major source of income for many small businesses that sell hemp in Texas.

Custom Botanical Dispensary, a downtown Austin shop that carries hemp products and oils, is one of four plaintiffs suing the state.

Owner Sarah Kerver, who also founded the hemp brand 1937 Apothecary, said 51% of her sales are of products that can be smoked or vaporized.

“Speaking to other retailers and brands around the state, they’re in the same economic situation,” she said.

The lawsuit argues the ban of manufacturing and processing smokable products enacted as part of the law is unconstitutional and that the ban on distributing and selling these products is not valid.

Jax Finkel, executive director of the Texas Chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said banning the sale of smokable products goes beyond the intent of the bill.

Kerver was among those who spoke against a sale ban during the public comment period on the new hemp rules.

“I know that the majority of the comments that were submitted were [against] the smokable ban,” she said.

She said if consumers can buy hemp products, they should have the freedom to decide whether or not they want to smoke them.

“Hemp is hemp. The precedent has already been set,” she said.

 

[momofthegoons]

As Texas Hemp Farmers Prepare For Their First-Ever Harvest, Cannabis Regulation Remains Complicated
Texas is preparing for the first-ever legal cannabis harvests since the plant was banned statewide in 1931.

In Bergheim, Texas, just north of San Antonio, there's a skunky smell in the air.

"You know, that’s a really good description. Skunky is a very typical terpene that is in most of these plants," Austin Ruple said.

He's the president and co-owner of Pur IsoLabs — a hemp and cannabidiol (CBD) company that grows hemp and manufactures retail CBD products.

Ruple stood next to a field of more than 300 hemp plants — a type of cannabis that's rich in CBD, a legal compound that does not get users high. These plants contain no more than 0.3% THC — the psychoactive component that does get users high.

Pur IsoLabs is in Kendall County, where more than 100 people were hit with possession charges for possession of less than 2 ounces of cannabis over the past year. So, how does this whole field exist?

"You’re looking at permitted hemp in the state of Texas," Ruple said.

A Red State Turns Green: The Cannabis Industry In Texas

After the 2018 farm bill that legalized hemp passed at the federal level, Texas followed suit during its 2019 state legislative session. This farm and others around the state are preparing for the first-ever legal cannabis harvest since the plant was banned statewide in 1931.

In Texas and across the nation, demand for cannabis is up. Recreational marijuana sales in Colorado hit a record high in May, Rolling Stone reported the underground industry in New York City thrived while the city was shut down, and the budding hemp industry in Texas is attracting new customers.

Pur IsoLabs co-owner Jennifer Ruple said demand for the company's CBD products has crept upward in recent months, especially in the online market.

Despite the Ruples' good luck, the first crop of Texas hemp will be smaller overall than many expected. And in late July, growers received more bad news when the state announced a ban on smokable hemp. That means while the pandemic may have increased demand for CBD products, it's unclear if hemp farmers in Texas will be able to meet it.

But why is there an increased demand?

The Ruples chose their words carefully when answering. Jennifer Ruple described the effect of certain products as an "enhanced benefit," and Austin Ruple called CBD a "great balancing tool."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has only approved CBD for certain uses, like treatment of epilepsy. While Pur IsoLabs doesn't claim CBD can cure anxiety, many other industry players do make those claims.

Regulated Research: CBD And THC In The Lab

Kent Hutchinson is a professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder. He and his colleagues are working on a long-term, observational study of how CBD, THC or a combination of both affect anxiety.

"It’s definitely still up in the air," he said. "Obviously people are theorizing that CBD might be helpful for anxiety, but there’s not really any good data yet — any high-quality data."

Hutchinson's study might generate interesting findings, but it, too, won't generate the highest quality data possible. It isn't a double-blind, randomized clinical trial — the gold standard of pharmaceutical science. Instead, Hutchinson and his colleagues will monitor participants who independently purchase and use CBD, THC or hybrid products.

"If we were to do an actual clinical trial, it becomes much much more difficult, given the regulatory hurdles that we have to deal with," he said.

Those regulatory hurdles pop up because cannabis is still a Schedule 1 drug at the federal level, putting it in the most regulated category for high-risk drugs with no medical use.

"It definitely makes it more challenging," said Igor Grant, a medical doctor and professor of psychiatry in the School of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego, where he directs the Center For Medicinal Cannabis Research.

Grant said the data is clear that THC — the psychoactive component in cannabis — does have a medical use for patients facing pain, weight loss and muscle spasms, among other conditions. But the Schedule 1 classification makes the research very difficult.

"From a medical research standpoint, it is not an appropriate classification any longer because, as I’ve mentioned, there is evidence for usefulness in several conditions," he said.

While researchers say the Schedule 1 classification is inappropriate, THC does have potential harmful effects. It can increase anxiety in some people, and there is a correlative link between THC consumption and onset of schizophrenia or psychosis for people with a family history of those conditions.

Kevin Hill, the Director of Addiction Psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, uses CBD in his practice for a variety of purposes — including treatment of the small fraction of adults who develop cannabis addiction.

"To perhaps oversimplify a bit, (CBD) functions as a buffer of sorts to the harmful effects of THC, and so, that means that it has anti-anxiety properties, antipsychotic properties as well, along with many other things that we’re learning about it," he said. "So, cannabidiol has tremendous promise, but it’s critical that it’s used in the right way. And for me, that means under the supervision of a physician."

Hill says a lot of the CBD on the market isn't accurately labeled, and there's a risk of negative interactions with other drugs a consumer might be taking.

CBD recently became slightly easier to study after the Drug Enforcement Administration rescheduled it to the lowest category following the 2018 farm bill. But for researchers interested in studying CBD and THC together, they still have to go through a rigorous process involving interviews with federal agents, laboratory inspections and an obstacle course of bureaucratic red tape.

‘A Very Janus-Faced Relationship' — How Cannabis Became A Flashpoint Of U.S. Culture Wars

Martin A. Lee is the author of Smoke Signals: A Social History of Marijuana and he's the founder and director of Project CBD, a non-profit that promotes cannabis science and therapeutics.

"We have a very Janus-faced relationship with CBD — and with cannabis in general — when it comes to mental health issues and what the therapeutic possibilities could be, and what the cultural baggage still is," he said.

The Schedule 1 status of marijuana goes back to the culture wars of the Richard Nixon administration, but the "cultural baggage" goes back even further.

In 1930, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) was formed. But the country was already at the start of the Great Depression, and as it got worse, the federal government had to cut back on spending. Harry Anslinger, the first FBN commissioner, wanted to ensure the survival of the bureau.

A propaganda film called Reefer Madness came out. It drew battle lines between cannabis traffickers and cops. After an innocent group of teenagers smoke cannabis, one of them is murdered and another is committed to an "institution for the criminally insane" for the rest of his life.

In addition to the hyperbolic concerns about mental health, much of the propaganda-driven fear around cannabis was rooted in racism. Many campaigns targeted Mexican people by calling cannabis "marihuana" and claiming it made users lazy. Some propaganda targeted white supremacist fears about interracial relationships with racist messaging that cannabis would make white woman more likely to socialize with Black men.

"This strange, evil weed — ‘marihuana' with an ‘H,' which was the same plant... that was in almost every American household, using it for all these different things," Lee said. "Because of a racist campaign, it was made essentially illegal marijuana, and the medicinal uses of cannabis were really, in some ways, lost to us. For centuries, humankind has had a connection with the plant. But because of marijuana prohibition, we lost that connection. And we’re in the process of relearning that today."

Cannabis Law Enforcement In Texas

Nearly 100 years after Reefer Madness, law enforcement around cannabis still reflects institutional racism in the criminal justice system.

"According to 2018 data from the FBI, Texas arrested more than 70,000 people for marijuana possession (in 2018)," said Nick Hudson, a criminal justice policy analyst at the ACLU of Texas. "Despite the fact that Black and white people use marijuana at similar rates, Black people are arrested for marijuana possession at more than 2.6 times the rate of white people."

Since 2018, many large cities and counties have reduced arrests and prosecution of low level cannabis possession. But the state is still a patchwork of policies, with some counties continuing to enforce the letter of the law.

"We have also seen increases in marijuana arrests in some other parts of the state," he said. "The areas we’re seeing increases are in our more rural and suburban communities, while urban areas are reducing marijuana possession arrests, generally."

And with bonds for misdemeanor cannabis possession charges running into the hundreds of dollars, many people who are arrested for cannabis are held in jail solely because they don't have the resources to pay bail.

Meagan Harding is a senior attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project's criminal justice reform project.

"What people don’t realize is there’s a difference between county jail and prison," she said. "And more than half of the people that are incarcerated right now in Texas are pre-trial, so they have not been convicted of anything."

Harding said the convergence of COVID-19 and disproportionate incarceration has had a profound impact on communities of color.

"I think what you’re seeing now is years and centuries of oppression of Black and brown communities now being compounded by a lot of the systemic oppression that we have been fighting against for years," she said. "And you see the intersection of all of those things coming together in the criminal justice system: so you see health disparities coming together, you see poverty, economic disadvantage coming together all at the same time to create the perfect storm."

While Black and brown people continue to flow through the court and prison system for cannabis-related charges, the mostly white-owned cannabis industry across the country is expanding. But the legal status of the plant remains hazy.

At the federal level, certain forms of cannabis are only legal for certain uses. At the state-level, only South Dakota still has an outright ban on all cannabis and CBD for any use. The rest of the country is a mishmashed matrix of regulations around cannabis.

 

[momofthegoons]

Texas Ban On Selling Smokeable Hemp Temporarily Lifted By Judge

A Texas judge gave four hemp companies a procedural victory on Wednesday, temporarily lifting the state’s ban on smokeable hemp products.

Activists celebrated the win and see it as a sign that the ban will be indefinitely removed as the case moves forward.

While Texas legalized the nonintoxicating version of the cannabis crop last year, the law was written in a way that only prohibited the manufacturing of smokeable hemp, leaving an opportunity for businesses to import and sell the product from other states.

But the state’s Department of State Health Services (DSHS) issued implementation regulations that went into effect earlier this month that go further and explicitly forbid the sale of any smokeable hemp products, prompting four companies to file suit in Travis County District Court. They argued that the ban is unconstitutional and asked the court to make it so companies can produce and sell the items in-state.

Now, Judge Lora Livingston has taken preliminary action, issuing a temporary restraining order (TRO) that enjoins the state from enforcing the ban on smokeable hemp producing, processing and sale.

The TRO expires on September 2, when the court will hold a hearing on the plaintiffs’ request for temporary injunctive relief.

“We applaud the judge’s decision,” Zachary Maxwell, president of Texas Hemp Growers, said in a press release. “While today’s ruling is not a concrete declaration that the state overstepped its boundaries, it does reinforce the idea that manufacturing, processing and selling smokable hemp products in Texas was perfectly legal prior to the enactment of the rule on Aug. 2.”

“This ban punitively targeted Texas’ small business owners during a time of economic contraction,” he said. “The TRO will provide some confidence to the marketplace that the citizens of this state demand full plant access.”

Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy has been closely following the case as well. When the ban was first proposed by regulators last year, the group mobilized hundreds of supporters to submit comments opposing the rule change.



Plaintiffs in the case say that the legislature’s original ban on processing and manufacturing smokeable hemp, and not just regulators’ sales block, also violates the state constitutions’s protections for economic freedom. They also argued that DSHS doesn’t have the authority to expand the ban on selling those products.

Further, prohibiting in-state sales creates excessive logistical problems, their lawsuit states. Smokeable hemp flower can’t be distinguished from hemp grown for other purposes, and so the ban creates a risk of companies mislabeling their products to avoid the prohibition.

The legalization of hemp in Texas has created other policy complications, too. The fact that hemp and marijuana are virtually indistinguishable has led law enforcement agencies to say they can’t consistently prosecute individuals without conducting lab analyses of seized cannabis for THC.

Because of that, prosecutors have dismissed hundreds of low-level cannabis cases since the policy change.

State officials announced in February that labs wouldn’t be performing testing in misdemeanor cases, with the the Texas Department of Public Safety saying it “will not have the capacity to accept those.”

 

[momofthegoons]

Texas Ban On Smokable Hemp Lifted Until 2021, Judge Rules

A Texas ban on smokable hemp products hit another roadblock in court last week when a state judge barred officials from enforcing the prohibition until an industry challenge can be heard in court.

A group of four hemp producers sued the state last month over the ban, which began when lawmakers passed a hemp legalization bill last year that explicitly forbade the production of products intended for smoking or vaporization. State health authorities extended its reach earlier this year to prohibit the sale and distribution of such products made outside Texas, a move the hemp companies claim was an unconstitutional overreach of their authorities.

In a ruling issued Thursday, Travis County Judge Lora Livingston wrote that the hemp companies may have a point. Writing that the plaintiffs “have demonstrated a probable right to relief,” Livingston granted a temporary injunction that effectively voids the ban on production, distribution and sale of the products until the conclusion of a trial set to begin in February.

Livingston had previously issued a temporary restraining order in the case last month that had a similar but shorter effect, preventing the state from enforcing the ban for a matter of weeks. The new ruling freezes the ban for at least four months, and potentially longer.

Opponents of the ban said that while the issue is far from over, Livingston’s recent decisions are a sign the challenge could ultimately succeed.

“So far, the rulings relating to this lawsuit are very encouraging,” said Heather Fazio, director of Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy, which opposes the ban and has organized hundreds of supporters to submit comments to regulators.

“Advocates in Texas have remained vigilant, with both legislative engagement and regulatory oversight,” Fazio said in an email to Marijuana Moment. “Now, Texas businesses are challenging our state’s poorly designed policies in the courts. And they’re winning!”

Plaintiffs are challenging both the legislature’s initial ban on production and processing of smokable hemp as well as the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) added ban on distribution and sale, which they claim violate the state constitution’s protections for economic freedom. They also maintain that DSHS lacked the authority to extend the production ban to retail sales.

The companies also point to logistical problems caused by the ban. Because smokable hemp flower is indistinguishable from hemp grown for other purposes, they argue, the ban will encourage bad actors to mislabel products in order to avoid the prohibition. That could put consumers at risk by exposing them to chemicals and other adulterants not intended for consumption.

Banning smokable hemp would also hurt the state economically, the producers claim, as Texas hemp companies wouldn’t be able to compete with out-of-state producers that can already make and sell anything from hemp joints to CBD vape cartridges.

“The law does not ban the use or consumption of smokable hemp products. As such, Texas consumers will simply buy smokable products made out-of-state,” the lawsuit says. “If Texas had banned the processing and manufacture of cheese in Texas, Texans wouldn’t stop eating cheese.”

Meanwhile, the state’s legalization of hemp for other purposes has caused headaches in the criminal justice community. Because hemp looks and smells similar to marijuana, law enforcement agencies have struggled to know whether individuals have a banned substance until they can chemically analyze a seized product. But state testing labs are overburdened, and in February the state Department of Public Safety said it would “not have the capacity” to perform testing in misdemeanor cases. Prosecutors as a result have dismissed hundreds of low-level cannabis cases.

Marijuana possession arrests fell almost 30 percent in Texas from 2018 to 2019, recently released state data shows, and that trend seems connected to hemp legalization.

 

[momofthegoons]

Texas Lawmakers Pre-File Marijuana Bills For 2021 Session​

On the heels of five U.S. states voting to legalize marijuana in some form last week, lawmakers in Texas are getting a head start introducing a number of cannabis-related bills for next year, including one that would legalize it for adult use.

The legalization bill is one of at least nine pieces of marijuana legislation pre-filed by lawmakers on Monday for the 2021 legislative session, which begins in January. Among the bills are proposals to legalize high-THC cannabis for medical use, decriminalize small amounts of marijuana and put legalization before state voters on the ballot. Another would shield consumers from existing criminal laws for marijuana possession if they reasonably expected a product to be legal hemp.

Many of the bills would usher in big changes for Texas, which currently allows only certain forms of low-THC medical marijuana to treat specific conditions, but the legalization measure is by far the most sweeping. Sponsored by state Sen.-elect Roland Gutierrez (D), SB 140 would legalize marijuana for adults 21 and older and establish a commercial cannabis industry in the state.

Much of the incoming senator’s argument so far for the bill is financial. Gutierrez, currently a member of the state House of Representatives, said Monday that the measure could eventually bring a $3.6 billion boost to the state economy.

A report last month published by the law firm Vicente Sederberg LLP estimated that marijuana legalization in Texas could produce more than $1.1 billion in state tax revenue plus millions more in licensing and other fees. The state is estimated to face a $4.6 billion deficit when the Legislature convenes next year, the state comptroller said in July.

Texas will be facing tremendous budgetary challenges next session. My bill would create 30,000 new jobs for our state and produce $3.2 billion in new revenue WITHOUT raising taxes on everyday Texans!
It’s time to join 38 other states and #LegalizeIt!https://t.co/eOVE9O62JE
— Roland Gutierrez (@RolandForTexas) November 9, 2020

“There is going to be a budget shortfall to affect all Texans,” Gutierrez said in a statement Monday, according to Fox 29. “In order to best serve our state, we have to look at cannabis legalization as a solution and not keep going back to the taxpayers and raise their taxes.”

Technically speaking, the bill effectively would raise taxes on the state’s current marijuana consumers, although most would probably think that’s a good trade for not being criminalized any longer. Legal sales under Gutierrez’s legislation would carry a 10 percent tax on sales, which would fund schools, border security and local law enforcement. Gutierrez said the measure could also generate “at least 30,000 high-paying jobs” in the state.

Last month, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) jokingly said Texas should not legalize marijuanabecause he wanted tourists to come spend money in his state instead. “Make sure to consider Colorado first in any Texas decisions,” he quipped on Twitter.

Monday was the first day for Texas lawmakers to pre-file legislation to be considered in next year’s legislative session, and more marijuana bills are expected to be introduced in coming weeks. Advocates are optimistic the activity means 2021 could be a big year for cannabis reform in Texas.

“We’re pleased to see a variety of cannabis related bills introduced so early in the pre-filing period,” Heather Fazio, director of Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy, told Marijuana Moment in an email. “Democratic and Republican lawmakers are making cannabis a priority,” she said, “which is a good sign for advocates as we prepare for the upcoming legislative session.”



The Texas Legislature only meets every other year, and in 2019 lawmakers considered a handful of major reforms, including decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana and expansion of the state’s limited medical cannabis program. By comparison, hemp, which is legal under federal law, includes all cannabis with less than 0.3 percent THC.

The cannabis decriminalization bill passed the Texas House but later died in the Senate without a vote.

The state did legalize hemp that year, however, and advocates said they felt legislators took marijuana reform more seriously than ever.

Other measures pre-filed on Monday reintroduce the subject of medical marijuana reform.

HB 43, sponsored by Rep. Alex Dominguez (D), would expand the current limited program by removing the low-THC cap and allowing doctors to recommend marijuana for any medical condition they see fit.

SB 90, sponsored by Sen. José Menéndez (D), would also remove the state’s 0.5 percent THC limit on medical products and expand the program to include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as any other medical condition approved by state regulators. Lawmakers in 2019 rejected repeated calls from veterans and other groups last session to add PSTD to the state’s list of qualifying conditions.

#Veterans:
•SB 90-Expanding the medical cannabis program & provides protections for those whom use #medicalcannabis, especially our veterans with #PTSD.
•SB 91-Enforcing coverage of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in health insurance, similar to other mental illnesses#txlege
— José Menéndez (@Menendez4Texas) November 10, 2020

A House bill (HB 94) from Rep. Ron Reynolds (D) would introduce similar language in that chamber.

A separate joint resolution (HJR 11) from Reynolds, meanwhile, would ask state voters to decide next November whether to amend the Texas Constitution to legalize the sale and use of medical marijuana.

Another joint resolution, HJR 13, by Rep. Terry Canales (D), would ask voters to legalize the use and commercial sale of recreational marijuana. Unlike the legalization Senate bill introduced by Gutierrez, Canales’s resolution is short on specifics. Voters in 2022 would cast ballots on whether to amend the constitution “to authorize and regulate the possession, cultivation, and sale of cannabis.” Details would come later.

Two other proposals focus on reducing state penalties for low-level marijuana possession.

HB 99, from Rep. Steve Toth (R), would reduce the possession of up to two ounces of marijuana from a Class B to a Class C misdemeanor, preventing arrest and instead imposing a civil fine. Such violations would no longer prevent Texans from obtaining driving licenses or automatically cause licenses to be suspended. HB 169, filed by Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D), would similarly reduce possession of two ounces or less to a Class C misdemeanor, but it doesn’t include HB 99’s driver’s license protections.

Another bill prefiled on Monday wouldn’t affect penalties for possessing marijuana, but it would shield people who buy hemp or hemp-derived CBD products from existing criminal penalties for marijuana if those products were later found to contain too much THC.

HB 307, by Rep. Nicole Collier (D), would provide people charged with cannabis crimes an affirmative defense, allowing them to escape penalties if they could demonstrate that they reasonably thought the product was hemp. A product would need to be labeled as though it was legal hemp, and the person would need to have purchased it “from a retailer the person reasonably believed was authorized to sell a consumable help product.”

Prosecutors across Texas this year have dropped hundreds of low-level cannabis cases, due largely to difficulty in distinguishing between newly legal forms of hemp, which contain less than 0.3 percent THC, and illegal marijuana, which can be indistinguishable from hemp without laboratory testing. As the likelihood for cases to be prosecuted has dropped, arrests for simple cannabis possession have also fallen in many jurisdictions.

Meanwhile, popular support for marijuana reform, whether for medical or adult use, has only grown in recent years.

In 2018, even the state Republican Party added a marijuana decriminalization plank to its platform, although this year it was removed. The 2020 platform does still call for federal rescheduling and the expansion of the state’s medical cannabis program, however.

Polling of Texas voters, meanwhile, shows strong support for ending prohibition. A University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll published in July found that more than half (53 percent) of surveyed voters were in favor of legalizing cannabis for adult use, while another 31 percent said they would legalize marijuana only for medical purposes. Only 21 percent of those surveyed opposed reducing penalties for simple possession.

In September, state Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said he supported drastically expanding the state’s medical marijuana program. “If it’ll help somebody, I’m for it,” he said. “Whatever it is. I mean, a toothache, I don’t care.”

Across the country last week week, voters approved every major drug reform measure put before them, including marijuana measures in five states, decriminalization of all drugs in Oregon, and decriminalization of psychedelic plants in Washington, DC. Oregon also approved a separate measure legalizing psilocybin for therapeutic use.

The overwhelming popularity of drug reform among a largely divided electorate is already pushing other states to consider reform measures of their own, Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) told Marijuana Moment last week that the results are likely to encourage reform at the federal level.

On Monday, U.S. House Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) seemed to confirm that prediction by announcing that Congress will vote on legislation next month that would end federal cannabis prohibition.

 

[momofthegoons]

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Texas Patients Push Lawmakers To Expand Medical Marijuana Program​

There are 3,519 Texans registered with the state to use medical marijuana, though advocates say 2 million people are eligible based on current law.

By Sami Sparber and Aria Jones, The Texas Tribune

Five years after Texas legalized medical marijuana for people with debilitating illnesses, advocates and industry experts say the state’s strict rules, red tape and burdensome barriers to entry have left the program largely inaccessible to those it was intended to help.

But with a new legislative session gaveling in next month, some Texas lawmakers see an opportunity to fix the state’s medical cannabis program — known as the Compassionate Use Program — by further expanding eligibility and loosening some restrictions so Texas’ laws more closely resemble those of other states that allow the treatment.

There are 3,519 Texans registered with the state to use medical marijuana, though advocates say 2 million people are eligible based on current law.

Texas’ program pales in overall participation and scope compared with other states: It has fewer enrolled patients and businesses than most other states with medical marijuana programs. At least some form of medical marijuana is legal in 47 states nationwide, but Texas’ restrictions put it in the bottom 11 in terms of accessibility, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

“We’re pretty dang close to the bottom. We’re pretty far behind,” said state Sen. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio, referring to how access to Texas’ medical marijuana program fares compared with other states. Menéndez will push legislation in the next session to further expand the program.

Oklahoma, home to 25 million fewer people than Texas, has more than 100 times as many registered patients who can access medical marijuana. This December, two years after the passage of Oklahoma’s medical cannabis program, there were 365,464 people enrolled. To the east, Louisiana, with a fifth of Texas’ population, had 4,350 patients in 2019, and to the west, New Mexico had enrolled more than 82,000 people in its program as of the same year.

Industry experts say Texas’ narrowly designed program is also hindering a market that could help drive Texas’ economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

“Here’s this … billion dollar bird’s nest that’s sitting on the South Lawn of the Capitol, waiting for the right legislator to come pick it up and take it inside, and to present it to the other legislators and say, ‘Here you go. Here’s a way for us to … [help] our citizens,”’ said Morris Denton, CEO of Compassionate Cultivation, one of the state’s three licensed medical cannabis businesses, at this year’s Texas Marijuana Policy Conference in November.

The business costs in Texas associated with the medical marijuana industry are sky high. At the same time, advocates and business leaders already in the market complain the state has one of the most restrictive caps on the amount of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC — the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana that makes people feel high — that medical cannabis products are legally allowed to contain. Only six states that allow medical marijuana have THC caps lower than Texas’, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The program is so limited that the National Organization for Reforming Marijuana Laws doesn’t recognize it as a true medical marijuana program. Instead, the group labels Texas a “medical CBD” state for its emphasis on cannabidiol — derived from hemp and containing only traces of the psychoactive compounds found in cannabis — over THC for medicinal use.

Jax Finkel, executive director for Texas NORML, said the reason Texas is often not considered a true medical marijuana state is because it caps medical cannabis at 0.5% THC, and over-the-counter hemp products are capped at 0.3%. That means people who get prescriptions from their doctors and pay for medical marijuana would be getting a product that has only marginally more THC than a CBD-oil or tincture purchased at a local store.

“While there is a difference there that has an added value and there is also value to being a registered patient, that does create somewhat of a problem,” Finkel said. “And so a lot of people don’t really see our program as a fully functioning program.”

But some Texas lawmakers hope to change that. As of Dec. 14, at least seven bills had been filed by lawmakers seeking to expand the Compassionate Use Program. Menéndez is authoring a far-reaching bill that would make more patients eligible, strike the THC cap and lower business fees, among other changes.

“I think we’d see a lot more participation if we had a real medical cannabis program,” said Heather Fazio, director of Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy.

In the past, medical cannabis bills have faced opposition from lawmakers who see it as a path to legalizing recreational marijuana, Menéndez said. But he says expanding the program will put decisions about who can access the medicine into the hands of doctors.

When the Senate voted to include more patients in 2019, state Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, said he was concerned the legislation was more of a “cliff” than a slippery slope.

“I come at this with a highly guarded sense of danger of the direction that this might take us to recreational use,” Birdwell said. “I wouldn’t be comfortable going any further than this because of what I’m seeing in Colorado, Washington and Oregon and what’s happening in those states. I am highly guarded.”

A push to expand the law​

Advocates say among the biggest failures of Texas’ medical cannabis program is its narrow “disease profile” — the list of conditions that qualify Texans to register as medical cannabis users. Fazio said most states with successful programs count post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic pain among qualifying conditions, and neither is on Texas’ list.

In 2015, Texas’ list of qualifying medical conditions had one item: intractable epilepsy. The 2019 expansion of the law added diseases such as terminal cancer, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and Lou Gehrig’s disease, or ALS.

The number of registered patients has steadily climbed since 2017. After lawmakers tweaked the program in 2019 to include more patients, the number of registered patients more than doubled from about 1,300.

But the bar for eligibility is still high. This legislative session, Fazio is pushing lawmakers to expand the state’s disease profile to include PTSD and chronic pain, which would particularly benefit Texas’ veteran population — the second largest in the country as of 2017.

One Texan who is left out of the state’s program is April Martinez, a U.S. Army veteran from Killeen. In 2006, Martinez was a chemical specialist in Afghanistan as part of a signal unit.

After returning home, she has experienced constant migraines, muscle fatigue and cognitive issues. Martinez said she has tried everything from Botox to Alzheimer’s medication to treat her pain.

She moved to Washington for a few years and gave medical cannabis a try, and saw immediate results. She said she stopped taking seven of her eight medications and could once again read, spend quality time with her kids and go out in the sun without experiencing excruciating pain.

“It felt like I was finally starting to see the sun through the clouds, and then we came back to Texas once my husband retired from the military,” Martinez said at a panel during the Texas Marijuana Policy Conference in November.

Martinez doesn’t qualify to use medical cannabis under Texas law.

“Having to look at the rest of your life, you can see every single day is, you are just going to feel beaten up and overwhelmed and not enough energy and everything that you do is going to cause you some amount of pain, is a really hard way to imagine the rest of your life,” Martinez said in an interview with The Texas Tribune.

Advocates say they want lawmakers to leave the decision-making to doctors. Louisiana and Oklahoma, among other states, allow physicians to decide who qualifies for medical cannabis. Under Texas’ current law, Menéndez said, lawmakers pick winners and losers through their strict criteria for medical cannabis use.

“I don’t understand what the lack of trust in Texas and the people of Texas is, because that’s what this is,” he said in an interview. “At the end of the day, they’re trying to keep cannabis out of the hands of everyone except for the people who they’ve laid out that can have access to it.”

The lack of autonomy for patients and physicians is a major issue in Texas’ medical marijuana system, said Dr. Robert S. Marks, chief executive officer of Diagnostic Pain Center in Austin. Marks is one of the 240 Texas physicians who can enter patients into the compassionate use registry.

He said that while the system is better than nothing, it’s a bit “disjointed” and could be more effective. The list of patients who can receive medical cannabis is both specific and broad, leaving it “ripe for both exploitation as well as limitation,” Marks said. For example, he said the list allows for people to receive cannabis for “spasticity,” a broad term but a legitimate reason to use cannabis.

“It’s challenging due to the fact that there are a lot of people that don’t qualify based on this list of diagnoses,” Marks said at a panel during the Texas Marijuana Policy Conference. “But yet there’s no question that this particular medicine would be a safer, viable option compared to alternatives.”

By allowing for more autonomy, Marks said, the state’s system could cut down on the time it takes physicians to provide medical cannabis and better satisfy patients with products that work.

“Cannabis is the only medicine where doctors are being told a dosing maximum, which is an incredible low dosage of THC,” Fazio said. “We trust doctors with far more dangerous substances.”

A potential boon for business​

Texas officials approved three companies to grow and sell medical cannabis in 2017, two years after the Compassionate Use Program was signed into law. Under the watchful eyes of state regulators, those three companies serve about 3,500 patients across Texas.

But they say that’s not enough patients for businesses to be profitable.

Together with high licensing fees and strict rules for transporting and storing inventory, it is challenging — and costly — for medical cannabis businesses to operate in Texas, said Denton, of Compassionate Cultivation. For example, the $7,300 application fee to open a dispensing organization in Texas is nearly three times as costly as in Oklahoma. Louisiana’s fee is just $450.

“The capital requirements in order to build out a vertically integrated business are not insignificant; in fact, they’re very high,” Denton said. “The ability to make money in this kind of an industry is nonexistent at this point.”

Denton says his business alone has the ability to serve the entirety of the state’s legal market. In Oklahoma, more than 9,500 licensed businesses collectively serve the state’s more than 365,000 patients. Louisiana, with 4,350 patients as of 2019, has approved two businesses to grow medical cannabis and nine to sell it.

Medical marijuana is already an economic engine in other states. In Oklahoma, which has the biggest program in the country on a per capita basis, sales since 2018 rose above $1 billion last month, according to reports.

During the 2021 legislative session, Compassionate Cultivation will also ask lawmakers to allow licensed companies to open retail, or dispensing, locations across the state. Under current regulations, the businesses are prohibited from storing inventory outside their facilities, making it difficult to deliver medicine to patients hundreds of miles away, Denton said.

“I believe that this business is arguably the most regulated business in the state of Texas right now,” Denton said. “We operate a business … in a fishbowl, under a microscope.”

 

[momofthegoons]

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Top Texas Lawmakers Say Medical Marijuana Expansion Is On The Table For 2021​

As Texas lawmakers returned to work for a new session this week, leaders of both chambers of the state’s legislature said they expect to see action on marijuana bills this year, particularly when it comes to expanding the state’s limited medical cannabis program. But both top legislators noted that sweeping reform in the form of recreational legalization is unlikely, in part due to skepticism in the Senate.

“Last session we had several bills that dealt with marijuana, whether it’s decriminalization of small amounts, full-out legalization of marijuana or marijuana for health-related issues,” said House Speaker Dade Phelan (R). “I think the House will look at those again and review those again, and some will get traction, some will not.”

Phelan, who was officially elected to the top House office on Tuesday, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), who presides over the state Senate, both gave wide-ranging interviews on to KTRK-TV about the agenda for the legislature, which convenes in Texas only once every two years.

Asked if far-reaching marijuana legislation has a shot of passing his chamber in 2021, Patrick replied simply that “it didn’t last time,” referring to his efforts to kill cannabis bills in the past.

But when it comes to a potential expansion of the state’s current limited medical cannabis laws, the lieutenant governor said he is “sure that will be looked at this session.”

Lawmakers prefiled more than a dozen pieces of cannabis legislation ahead of the new session, including measures that would legalize marijuana for adult use, legalize high-THC cannabis for medical use and decriminalize small-scale possession of marijuana.

While Patrick signaled he’s open to some medical cannabis-related changes, he downplayed the more ambitious efforts.

“We’re always listening on the health issues, but we’re not going to turn this into California,” he said, “where anybody can get a slip from the doctor and go down to some retail store and say, ‘You know, I got a headache today so I need marijuana,’ because that’s just a veil for legalizing it for recreational use.”

Texas currently has one of the most restrictive medical marijuana programs in the country, allowing patients with a small number of serious conditions to legally access products with up to 0.5 percent THC, barely more than the 0.3 percent allowed in federally legal hemp. Because of that, some policy observers and advocacy groups, including NORML, don’t consider it a true medical marijuana program at all.

While the program was initially open only to people with intractable epilepsy, a 2019 expansion added qualifying conditions such as terminal cancer, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and Lou Gehrig’s disease, or ALS.

“For serious medical issues, we’ve already taken that step in the past,” Patrick said in Monday’s interview. “I’m sure that will be looked at this session.”

Advocates are calling on lawmakers to further expand the program. They want to see post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic pain on the list of qualifying conditions, as is common in other states. Ultimately, they say, doctors themselves should be responsible for determining which patients might benefit from medical cannabis—just as laws in Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico and many other states already allow. They also want patients to be able to access more forms of cannabis for medical use.

“As the lieutenant governor said, we should not look to California as a model for Texas’ medical cannabis program,” Heather Fazio, director of Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy, told Marijuana Moment on Tuesday. “Instead, let’s look to Oklahoma or New Mexico, both of which allow patients safe and legal access to cannabis with a doctor’s approval.”

The biggest hurdle to expansion is in the Senate. Phelan, who has said he supports medical marijuana in part because he has a sister with epilepsy, has also supported broader reform. Last session he co-authored legislation that would have decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana. While the House passed the bill, Patrick quickly declared the bill dead in the Senate.

“I thought that was a reasonable approach,” Phelan said of the decriminalization bill in the new interview. “But the House has always looked at that a little differently than, I think, the other chamber.”

Phelan also noted in the interview that he won’t “have a thumb on the scale trying to move legislation through the chamber.”

“Like any other issue, it is up to that member to get that bill to the House floor, and to get their votes,” he said. “It’s up to each individual member to do that.”

Even though he backs decriminalizing cannabis possession, Phelan isn’t necessarily on board with broader marijuana legalization.

In a separate interview this week, he told the Port Arthur News that the reform wouldn’t be a feasible way to avoid cuts planned to the state budget this year, as tax revenue from legalization wouldn’t impact the current budget cycle.

Fazio, at Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy, said that while it’s clear advocates still have a long way to go to ensure the state’s medical marijuana system keeps maturing, the recent statements from Patrick and Phelan are an encouraging sign.

“We’ve seen how the Compassionate Use Program has improved the quality of life for thousands of Texans, and it’s refreshing to see leaders in both the Texas House and Senate recognizing that further expansion of the program will be on the table for discussion this session,” she said. “Advocates have a lot of work to do to secure the vote, but we are on our way to a real medical cannabis program, similar to what’s been enacted in 36 other states.”

 

[momofthegoons]

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Two In Three Texans Support Legalizing Marijuana To Fund Schools, Poll Shows​

Two in three Texans support legalizing marijuana to boost revenue for K-12 education in the state, according to a new poll.

The survey, which involved interviews with 1,034 Texas adults, looked at public opinion on a wide range of education-related issues. One question asked respondents whether they support or oppose using revenue from cannabis legalization in order to “provide additional funding for Texas K-12 public schools.”

Sixty-four percent said they’re in favor of that proposal, compared to 35 percent who said they were against it. That’s the same level of support as for alcoholic beverage taxes.

When compiling responses from only those who are parents of K-12 students, the same share, 64 percent, back using marijuana revenue to fund education.

About half of Republicans and conservatives, 66 percent of moderates, 71 percent of independents and more than three-quarters of Democrats and liberals said they supportlegalization for increased school funding.

Overall, more Texans support funding education by legalizing cannabis than using other revenue options such as increasing the sales tax, putting a new tax on sugary drinks or raising taxes on corporations, hotel occupancy or motor vehicles. The only options that proved more popular than marijuana legalization were allowing casino gambling, increasing tobacco taxes and enacting a new tax on vaping.

“These new poll results reaffirm what many of us have known for some time: Texans are ready for marijuana legalization,” Heather Fazio, director of Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy, told Marijuana Moment.

“As we move forward, it’s important to balance our desire to generate revenue with our desire to stamp out the underground market,” she said. “Sensible regulation and reasonable tax rates will give us our best shot at bringing the market for cannabis into the light of day, protecting consumers and disempowering cartels.”

Numerous states that have enacted legalization have earmarked cannabis tax dollars for education, and Texas stands to raise a significant amount of revenue that could be used for that purpose if it follows suit, an analysis released last year found. It estimated that the state could raise more than $1.1 billion in marijuana tax revenue per biennium if it followed Colorado’s model.

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) stressed during his State of the State address on Tuesday that his budget proposal “ensures marijuana tax dollars will continue to fund education, to ensure districts can meet the needs of students during the pandemic and beyond.”

But passing marijuana reform in Texas has proven to be an onerous task, with Republican lawmakers having historically blocked or defeated legalization proposals.

That said, leaders in both chambers of the legislature have recently indicated that they anticipate more modest proposals to be taken up and potentially approved this session, particularly as it concerns expanding the state’s limited medical cannabis program.

House Speaker Dade Phelan (R) said he thinks “the House will look at” reform measures this year, including bills to legalize for adult use. He said the lawmakers will likely “review those again, and some will get traction, some will not.” However, the Senate remains an obstacle for comprehensive reform.

Legislators in the state prefiled more than a dozen pieces of cannabis legislation ahead of the new session. That includes bills that would legalize recreational marijuana, allow high-THC cannabis for medical use and decriminalize low-level possession of marijuana.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), who presides over the Senate, has killed prior efforts to enact reform in the state, raising questions about the prospects of far-reaching changes advancing in the chamber. After the House approved a cannabis decriminalization bill in 2019, Patrick was quick to declare the proposal dead in the Senate.

 

[momofthegoons]

Texas Voters’ Support For Legalizing Marijuana Is Increasing, New Poll Shows​

Texans’ support for legalizing marijuana has grown significantly over the past decade, according to a new poll.

Sixty percent of state voters now back making cannabis legal “for any use,” the University of Texas and Texas Tribune survey found. That compares to just 42 percent who said the same back in 2010.

In the most recent poll, supporters include 28 percent who say marijuana should be legal in “any amount” for any use and another 32 percent who say only “small amounts” should be allowed. An additional 28 percent want medical cannabis legalized, while 13 percent want prohibition maintained across the board.

“Support for legalization continues to grow as voters recognize the failures of prohibition,” Heather Fazio, director of Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy, told Marijuana Moment. “Current marijuana laws are harsh, unreasonable, and unpopular. Thankfully, both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have put forward bills to change the way Texas handles marijuana.”

Last month, Fazio’s group displayed a series of educational posters about cannabis reform at the state Capitol. On March 29, it will hold a virtual lobby day where constituents can let their lawmakers know how they feel about marijuana.



A separate poll in January found that two in three Texans support legalizing marijuana to boost revenue for K-12 education in the state

The new poll involved 1,200 registered voters was conducted via the internet from February 12-18. It has margin of error of +/- 2.83 percentage points.

Despite strong public support for legalization, passing marijuana reform in Texas has proven to be an onerous task, with Republican lawmakers having historically blocked or defeated legalization proposals.

That said, leaders in both chambers of the legislature have recently indicated that they anticipate more modest proposals to be taken up and potentially approved this session, particularly as it concerns expanding the state’s limited medical cannabis program.

House Speaker Dade Phelan (R) said he thinks “the House will look at” reform measures this year, including bills to legalize for adult use. He said the lawmakers will likely “review those again, and some will get traction, some will not.” However, the Senate remains an obstacle for comprehensive reform.

Legislators in the state prefiled more than a dozen pieces of cannabis legislation ahead of the new session. That includes bills that would legalize recreational marijuana, allow high-THC cannabis for medical use and decriminalize low-level possession of marijuana.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), who presides over the Senate, has killed prior efforts to enact reform in the state, raising questions about the prospects of far-reaching changes advancing in the chamber. After the House approved a cannabis decriminalization bill in 2019, Patrick was quick to declare the proposal dead in the Senate.

 

[Baron23]

Texas' odds for marijuana law reform? Depends on who you ask.​

While proponents of marijuana law reform in Texas are hoping bipartisan efforts this session lead to greater access to recreational and medical cannabis, that may not be likely.
A report from the news site Marijuana Moment shows that top state lawmakers do not expect "sweeping reform" on legalizing recreational use because of skepticism in the Texas Senate. The website, which reports on developments and trends affecting cannabis, is tracking more than 900 cannabis and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year.
“Last session we had several bills that dealt with marijuana, whether it’s decriminalization of small amounts, full-out legalization of marijuana or marijuana for health-related issues,” said House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, according to the report. “I think the House will look at those again and review those again, and some will get traction. Some will not.”

That story also reported that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told a television station that if far-reaching marijuana legislation has a shot of passing his chamber in 2021, “it didn’t last time,” referring to his efforts to kill cannabis bills in the past.
Sen. Drew Springer, R-Muenster; Rep. Lynn Stucky, R-Denton; and Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, had not returned messages seeking comment by late Monday.
Texas continues to lag far behind other states where the use of cannabis products for medical and other purposes has been legalized, said Heather Fazio, director of Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy, a coalition seeking to change state laws to make it easier for terminally ill patients to receive cannabis treatment and to decriminalize marijuana possession
'Unprecedented common ground'

“We are facing some challenges, but we are seeing unprecedented common ground in the Legislature,” Fazio said.
Jax Finkel, executive director of the Texas chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), agreed.
“When we talk about decriminalization, several bills have been offered,” she said. “As far as the retail market, we will have a robust conversation. We’ll just have to see how far the Legislature will go.”
Texas legislators have filed more than 40 bills this session to reform marijuana laws in the state — from medical use to decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of the drug for recreational use.
But the Austin American-Statesman has reported that, with time running out in the regular session, marijuana laws aren't likely to change much.

“It appears apparent today that [marijuana proponents] don’t have the support” among lawmakers for major inroads, said A.J. Louderback, legislative director of the Sheriffs’ Association of Texas, which backs strict anti-cannabis laws, according to the publication. “Anything is possible during the session for something to gain traction and move, but I think it is going to be a long shot."
A number of bills that would loosen marijuana prohibition still could win approval, but they've been diluted from original versions or didn’t constitute major change, according to the Statesman.
But several bills related to medical cannabis remain alive, including revised House Bill 1365 that would mandate a 0.5% cap on THC content, barely above the 0.3% that can be present in hemp. State Rep. Eddie Lucio III, D-Brownsville, the bill's primary author, told the Statesman that the changes "are a nod to political reality as he attempts to navigate the bill through the Republican-controlled House and Senate."
The production, sale or possession of marijuana in Texas remains illegal, except to treat retractable epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, autism, Lou Gehrig’s disease, terminal cancer, spasticity and neurodegenerative disease under the Texas Compassion Use Act. That legislation allows qualifying patients to access “low-THC cannabis,” marijuana that has 10% or more cannabidiol (CBD) and no more than 0.5% THC.
Under the law, dispensing businesses may cultivate, process and distribute THC cannabis to certain patients, according to Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy.

According to Marijuana Moment, the Senate poses the greatest challenge to reform. Phelan said he supports medical marijuana and co-authored legislation last session that would have decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana. That legislation passed the House but died in the Senate.

Considering Colorado​

A City Council member in Fort Collins — a Colorado city with a demographic makeup similar to that of Denton — says marijuana law reform has “generally gone well” there

“You get different opinions,” Ross Cunniff said. “But in Colorado, we have the advantage of our reform being pushed by a citizen initiative. The majority of voters wanted this to be legalized, and that has led to more willingness for politicians to consider it.”
According to a University of Texas poll published in February, 32% of respondents favor allowing possession of small amounts of marijuana, while 28% want approval of medical marijuana. Another 28% believe that possession of any amount of marijuana for any purpose should be legal. Thirteen percent do not favor legalization of marijuana possession for any purpose.
In Colorado, private possession of up to an ounce by anyone at least 20 years old is lawful, as is private cultivation of up to six marijuana plants, with no more than three being mature. Transfer of one ounce or less for no remuneration by anyone at least 21 is legal, too.
“Prosecution for marijuana possession tended to significantly disproportionately affect minorities, which is a serious injustice,” Cunniff said. “If you look at jail statistics, they are Black and Hispanic. So the citizens passed the initiative.”
That initiative was several years ago.
“In Colorado, home-rule cities can allow retail establishments,” Cunniff said. “We authorized that several years ago. But you can’t smoke it anywhere except in the privacy of your own home.”
In other states, Marijuana Moment reported, Kansas lawmakers are expected to vote this week on legislation that would legalize medical marijuana. In New Jersey, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy says he is "open" to decriminalizing all illicit drugs in that state, including marijuana.
And in Oklahoma, according to published reports, House Bill 2022 would allow Texans to obtain medical licenses to receive cannabis treatment there. Under the current program, people who live outside Oklahoma must be licensed in another state to receive medical care under Oklahoma’s weed program.
“Oklahoma, all of a sudden, becomes a very desirable place if the bill passes,” Fazio said.

 

[CarolKing]

There’s areas of Texas that are liberal when it comes to Marijuana and other causes, like Austin. You also have some tough outdated conservative attitudes mixed in with racism and other isms in other parts. A very diverse state. I have a very conservative sister that blames everybody else for their issues in Texas. I can’t even have a conversation without her complaining about everything. She blew up when I said, it looks like Texas needs to be included with everybody else on the electrical grid. She’s racist too!

 

[Baron23]

There’s areas of Texas that are liberal when it comes to Marijuana and other causes, like Austin.

hahaha....true, and the rest of Texas is trying to figure out how to get Austin and its residents out of Texas and into another state! haha

 

[momofthegoons]

Texas Lawmakers Tackle Marijuana Decriminalization, Medical Cannabis And Hemp In Committee Hearings​

Cannabis reform is the hot topic in the Texas legislature this week, with lawmakers holding hearings on multiple marijuana decriminalization bills, a proposal to expand the state’s medical cannabis program and another piece of legislation concerning hemp regulations.

The bills were separately scheduled for discussion in three House committees throughout the week, raising hopes for advocates that lawmakers may still advance cannabis reform this year despite setbacks from the coronavirus pandemic and the state’s ice storm.

Five of the proposals that were heard in the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee on Tuesday would decriminalize possession of various amounts of marijuana by making it a class C misdemeanor, which does not carry the threat of jail time. The possession thresholds range from one to four ounces.

Two bills—HB 99 and HB 441—would further prevent arrests over cannabis possession, which is an important component as Texas police officers are allowed to place people in jail following arrests for low-level misdemeanors even if the charge itself doesn’t include an incarceration penalty.

Only HB 441 would additionally prevent the marijuana offenses from being added to a person’s criminal record.

Members of the House Judiciary Committee didn’t vote on any of the proposals, but members discussed them at length, with the hearing not wrapping up until Wednesday morning.



A separate bill from Rep. Terry Canales (D) would low penalties for possessing cannabis concentrates, making it a class B misdemeanor to have up to ten grams of those products or a class A misdemeanor if the amount is more than 10 grams but less than 20.

Finally, another measure would simply remove penalties for possessing drug paraphernalia.

“Bipartisan support for marijuana law reform continues to grow as Texas voters see other states reaping the benefits of a more sensible approach,” Heather Fazio, director of Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy, said in a press release. “Fewer arrests for marijuana possession means law enforcement can focus on real crime in our state.”

Meanwhile, the House Public Health Committee met on Wednesday and discussed a bill from Chairwoman Stephanie Klick (R) that would add cancer, chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder (for veterans only) as conditions that could qualify people for the state’s limited medical cannabis program.

The legislation would further allow the Department of State Health Services to add more qualifying conditions via administrative rulemaking. And it would also raise the THC cap for medical marijuana products from 0.5 percent to five percent.

 

[momofthegoons]

Texas Lawmakers Approve Marijuana Decriminalization Bill In Committee​

A bill to decriminalize marijuana possession in Texas—as well as a separate proposal to reduce penalties for possessing cannabis concentrates—advanced out of a key House committee on Friday.

These are the latest developments that have come after a week where Texas lawmakers have considered a medley of marijuana reform measures. But arguably the most significant piece of cannabis legislation to move out of committee would make possession of up to an ounce of marijuana a class C misdemeanor that carries a fine but no threat of jail time.

The full House of Representatives approved a cannabis decriminalization bill in 2019, but it did not advance in the Senate that session.

This time around, the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee approved the decriminalization bill, which would also prevent law enforcement from making arrests over low-level possession. Other decriminalization proposals that were under consideration by the panel this week would not prohibit that enforcement action, which is key because police are currently able to incarcerate people who are arrested for class C misdemeanors even though the charge itself does not carry the risk of jail time in sentencing.

The advancing legislation, HB 441, sponsored by Rep. Erin Zwiener (D), would also prevent the loss of a driver’s license or the creation of a criminal record for possession of up to one ounce.

Separately, the committee advanced legislation to make possession of up to two ounces of cannabis concentrates a class B misdemeanor.

Both bills were among the subjects a lengthy hearing the panel held on Tuesday.

“Marijuana bills are moving through the committee process at record speed this session,” Heather Fazio, director of Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy, told Marijuana Moment. “There’s good reason to be optimistic about the upcoming votes and the House and advocates will be doubling down their efforts to influence senators.”

This action comes one day after the House Public Health Committee unanimously approved a bill to significantly expand the state’s medical marijuana program.

Sponsored by Chairwoman Stephanie Klick (R), the bill would add cancer, chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder (for veterans only) as conditions that could qualify people for the state’s limited medical cannabis program.

It would further allow the Department of State Health Services to add more qualifying conditions via administrative rulemaking. And it would also raise the THC cap for medical marijuana products from 0.5 percent to five percent.

 

[momofthegoons]

Texas House Approves Bills To Expand Medical Marijuana Program And Reduce Penalties For Concentrates


For the second day in a row, the Texas House of Representatives has advanced marijuana reform legislation, approving a bill on Wednesday to significantly expand the state’s medical cannabis program and a separate proposal to reduce penalties for possessing marijuana concentrates.

A broader cannabis decriminalization measure is also set to be taken up by the chamber on Thursday.

Advocates have been closely monitoring the House as members consider a slew of reform bills this session. This week is proving especially busy for drug policy in the Lone Star State, where legislators in the House Public Health Committee on Monday also approved a measure requiring the state to study the therapeutic potential of psychedelics like psilocybin and MDMA.

The medical cannabis expansion proposal that passed the chamber on second reading on Wednesday would add cancer, chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as conditions that could qualify people for the state’s limited medical cannabis program. It passed in the House Public Health Committee earlier this month.

The legislation would further allow the Department of State Health Services to add more qualifying conditions via administrative rulemaking. And it would also raise the THC cap for medical marijuana products from 0.5 percent to five percent.

As originally brought to the floor, the bill would have only allowed PTSD as a qualifying condition for military veterans, but its sponsor, Rep. Stephanie Klick (R), introduced an amendment to allow anyone with PTSD to access medical cannabis. That was approved without objection.

“Believe it or not, the number [of people with PTSD] is actually higher for survivors of sexual assault, than it is for veterans,” she said. “And we need to include them, in that sexual assault is more likely to cause PTSD than any other event.”

But advocates want even broader expansions to the medical cannabis law than would be brought about under the current bill.

“HB 1535 expands our state’s current program, but still leaves behind most patients who can benefit from cannabis,” Heather Fazio, director of Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy, told Marijuana Moment. “Texans deserve a comprehensive medical cannabis program similar to what New Mexico, Oklahoma, and 34 other states have established for their citizens.”

Jax Finkel of Texas NORML said that the PTSD expansion is an “extremely important” change for patients and she hopes advocates “will be able to further improve this legislation with recommended amendments in the Senate.”

Klick said her floor amendment also “clarifies chronic pain as a qualifying condition” by removing the possibility medical cannabis could be recommended for “acute” pain.

The House approved the amended measure in a voice vote. Another vote on third reading is expected in the coming days to formally send it to the Senate.

The other bill, which cleared the chamber by a vote of 108-33, would create a new drug schedule for products containing THC that would carry slightly lower penalties compared to where they are currently classified. But possession of up to two ounces of concentrates would still be a class B misdemeanor that does still carry the threat of jail time.

The bill cleared the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee earlier this month and was approved on a second reading on Tuesday before getting final approval Wednesday.

Advocates have been encouraged with the progress they’ve seen this session, and there’s still more to come this week.

On Thursday, the House will vote on another reform bill that would decriminalize possession of up to one ounce of cannabis, making the offense a class C misdemeanor that does not warrant jail time. Beyond that, the legislation would end the threat of being arrested for the low-level possession and gives people the opportunity to avoid a conviction by providing for deferrals and dismissals.

 

[Thedev]

Current state