Texas bill advances — lessens criminal penalties for possession
A long-time supporter of sensible marijuana laws in Texas, Rep. Harold Dutton, Jr. (D) introduced HB 184 this year, which reduces penalties for possession of a small amount of marijuana to a non-jailable offense for those without prior convictions for possession. On Monday, April 22, the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee approved the bill in a 6-3 vote, moving it out of that committee. Unfortunately, the bill was amended to apply only to people under the age of 21, a likely compromise to keep the bill going. While not ideal, it is a step in the right direction. We are now waiting on the Committee on Calendars, the next step in the process, to set a date for a vote on the House floor. Please send an email to the committee and ask them to advance the bill for a vote.
In addition, Rep. Eliot Naishtat has reintroduced legislation that would give patients with serious illnesses an “affirmative defense” against charges of possessing small amounts of marijuana. His bill, HB 594, would not give patients protection from arrest, but it would allow them to demonstrate to a judge that their use was medical in nature and escape a criminal conviction. You can also email your legislators and ask them to support this compassionate bill.
Others are not as sensible as Reps. Dutton and Naishtat. On March 5, 2013, Rep. Allen Fletcher introduced HB 2418. Fletcher’s bill creates a new, separate offense for possessing marijuana plants with the intent to grow them. This is already illegal under Texas law as a form of possession. But by creating a new, distinct offense for growing, prosecutors would have an option of charging people with two felonies instead of just one.
Another harmful bill, HB 2498 introduced by Rep. Rick Miller, seeks to expand the scope of Texas’s criminal offense of “delivery” of marijuana to include intent to deliver. This bill increases the penalty for delivery of ¼ oz. or less from a Class B felony to a Class A and requires the same penalty for intent to deliver. Both HB 2418 and 2498 are pending in the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee.
Learn more about Texas’s marijuana laws
Did you know that an amazing 97% of all marijuana arrests in Texas during 2007 were for simple possession? That’s 68,758 people arrested just for possessing a substance that is safer than alcohol. You can also learn more about Texas’s marijuana laws by reading this report from economist Jon Gettman, Ph.D.
Something else you might not know is that the Texas Democratic Party actually made the decriminalization of marijuana part of its official platform last year. Click here to read more about that and to ask your state legislators to support such a measure.
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