Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
With the clock ticking down on the current session of the Texas Legislature, advocates for legalizing medicinal marijuana in the state are replacing their appeals to lawmakers' compassion for suffering patients with political pressure.
About two dozen supporters of medicinal marijuana rallied in front of the Texas Capitol on Monday for the second time in two weeks, calling out lawmakers by name in hopes of jump-starting momentum for House Bill 2107, which would make marijuana for medical purposes broadly legal in Texas. They said the bill would likely win approval of the full House if brought up for a vote, because 77 of 150 House members have signed on as co-authors.
But the bill is likely dead if it isn't scheduled for a full House vote by Thursday, because that's the cutoff for the House to consider most proposed legislation originating in its chamber.
"It is inhumane to let the patients of Texas wait any longer," said Christy Zartler, a member of the group Mothers Advocating Medical Marijuana for Autism, and the mother of a daughter with severe autism. "The time to pass medical cannabis in Texas is now."
Supporters have had some success in pressuring lawmakers to advance the legislation, which was originally filed in February. State Rep. Four Price, R-Amarillo, who chairs the House Committee on Public Health, held a hearing on HB 2107 last Tuesday following the group's rally two weeks ago.
The hearing, which had its start delayed while the full House was in session, lasted more than four hours and ended around 2 a.m. Price's Public Health Committee subsequently voted 7-2 on Friday to approve the bill and send it to the House Committee on Calendars, where it remains. The Calendars Committee decides when bills will be considered by the full House.
Advocates for the HB 2107 called Monday for state Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi – who chairs the Calendars Committee – to put it on the schedule for consideration by the full House before Thursday.
"It would surely pass the House if Rep. Hunter schedules it for a vote," said Heather Fazio, Texas political director for the Marijuana Policy Project, a national nonprofit focused on reforming marijuana laws. "We're seeing unprecedented support for medical cannabis."
Fazio said her group has spoken to Hunter and was told it would be "very difficult" to get the bill on the full House calendar by Thursday, partly because he had not yet received all of the paperwork from the Public Health Committee.
But "it's just a matter of working against the clock," Fazio said. "There is urgency and broad support for this legislation."
A spokesperson for Hunter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Two years ago, Texas lawmakers approved what's known as the Compassionate Use Act, legalizing oils made from cannabidiol for medical purposes. Cannabidiol, commonly called CBD, is found in cannabis plants but doesn't produce euphoria or a high.
However, that law has yet to have any impact because the first Texas CBD dispensaries haven't been fully licensed. It also restricts the compound's use to certain patients suffering from a rare form of epilepsy, and only after they've first tried two conventional drugs that prove to be ineffective. Many advocates for medical marijuana have said the Compassionate Use Act is so restrictive it's useless for many people.
HB 2107 would legalize medical use of all parts of the cannabis plant - including tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which induces a high for users - for any doctor-corroborated debilitating health condition, such as cancer, chronic pain, autism or post-traumatic stress disorder.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Medical marijuana advocates call for Texas House vote on bill
Author: Bob Sechler
Contact: Contact the Statesman
Photo Credit: Todd McInturf
Website: Austin investigative news from the Austin American-Statesman
About two dozen supporters of medicinal marijuana rallied in front of the Texas Capitol on Monday for the second time in two weeks, calling out lawmakers by name in hopes of jump-starting momentum for House Bill 2107, which would make marijuana for medical purposes broadly legal in Texas. They said the bill would likely win approval of the full House if brought up for a vote, because 77 of 150 House members have signed on as co-authors.
But the bill is likely dead if it isn't scheduled for a full House vote by Thursday, because that's the cutoff for the House to consider most proposed legislation originating in its chamber.
"It is inhumane to let the patients of Texas wait any longer," said Christy Zartler, a member of the group Mothers Advocating Medical Marijuana for Autism, and the mother of a daughter with severe autism. "The time to pass medical cannabis in Texas is now."
Supporters have had some success in pressuring lawmakers to advance the legislation, which was originally filed in February. State Rep. Four Price, R-Amarillo, who chairs the House Committee on Public Health, held a hearing on HB 2107 last Tuesday following the group's rally two weeks ago.
The hearing, which had its start delayed while the full House was in session, lasted more than four hours and ended around 2 a.m. Price's Public Health Committee subsequently voted 7-2 on Friday to approve the bill and send it to the House Committee on Calendars, where it remains. The Calendars Committee decides when bills will be considered by the full House.
Advocates for the HB 2107 called Monday for state Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi – who chairs the Calendars Committee – to put it on the schedule for consideration by the full House before Thursday.
"It would surely pass the House if Rep. Hunter schedules it for a vote," said Heather Fazio, Texas political director for the Marijuana Policy Project, a national nonprofit focused on reforming marijuana laws. "We're seeing unprecedented support for medical cannabis."
Fazio said her group has spoken to Hunter and was told it would be "very difficult" to get the bill on the full House calendar by Thursday, partly because he had not yet received all of the paperwork from the Public Health Committee.
But "it's just a matter of working against the clock," Fazio said. "There is urgency and broad support for this legislation."
A spokesperson for Hunter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Two years ago, Texas lawmakers approved what's known as the Compassionate Use Act, legalizing oils made from cannabidiol for medical purposes. Cannabidiol, commonly called CBD, is found in cannabis plants but doesn't produce euphoria or a high.
However, that law has yet to have any impact because the first Texas CBD dispensaries haven't been fully licensed. It also restricts the compound's use to certain patients suffering from a rare form of epilepsy, and only after they've first tried two conventional drugs that prove to be ineffective. Many advocates for medical marijuana have said the Compassionate Use Act is so restrictive it's useless for many people.
HB 2107 would legalize medical use of all parts of the cannabis plant - including tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which induces a high for users - for any doctor-corroborated debilitating health condition, such as cancer, chronic pain, autism or post-traumatic stress disorder.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Medical marijuana advocates call for Texas House vote on bill
Author: Bob Sechler
Contact: Contact the Statesman
Photo Credit: Todd McInturf
Website: Austin investigative news from the Austin American-Statesman
