Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
The only sure bet at legalizing marijuana appears to be a ballot initiative. It's the only way that sales and possession have won approval in other states.
But it's unlikely to happen anytime soon in Texas, where citizens don't have the kind of access to referendums that advocates for relaxed drug laws have used in places such as Oregon and Colorado.
That leaves pro-marijuana advocates here vowing a return to the Legislature to again lobby for decriminalization - if not full legalization.
"For some reason, state lawmakers have always been behind the curve of public opinion when it comes to marijuana policy reform," said Morgan Fox, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project.
"So far, the only laws regulating marijuana similarly to alcohol and making it legal for adults have been passed by the voters," he said.
Heather Fazio, the group's Texas political director, said she's already preparing for the next round, even though setbacks from the last legislative session are still fresh.
Fazio said she's "bummed" that lawmakers didn't pass a proposal to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana this year.
"But we did a lot right. We're working with the cards that we're dealt," she said.
With the exception of a medical marijuana bill that drew criticism as too limited, lawmakers crushed nearly every effort at liberalizing marijuana laws. Fazio hopes next year they will join 16 other state legislatures that have passed decriminalization bills.
Pro-marijuana advocates tout their grassroots support in the state. A University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll last year found that 49 percent of registered voters support legalized marijuana. Thirty-two percent favor legalization of small quantities, while 17 percent back legalization of any quantity.
Rep. David Simpson, a Tea Party-backed Republican from Longview, authored a proposal to legalize marijuana because, he argued, God made the plant and state legislators have no right to make it illegal.
Simpson recently announced that he's running for a state Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler. Fazio said she expects the East Texas conservative to bring his bill back if he wins.
Such a bill may be advocates' only hope of change.
Jim Henson, a government lecturer who directs the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin, said interest in relaxed marijuana laws "never reaches critical mass."
But there's also a logistical hurdle: Ballot initiatives that give advocates a tool to plant the seeds of marijuana reform elsewhere aren't available in Texas, noted Katharine Neil, a postdoctoral fellow in drug policy at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy.
"Unfortunately, we don't have that," Neil said. "That's really been a key in terms of the arena they want to fight in."
Two-dozen states have ballot initiatives that allow issues to reach a public vote with the signatures of enough registered voters.
Such initiatives ran out of steam in Texas in the '90s when Republicans replaced a pro-referendum plank from the party platform with an anti-referendum stance under former Gov. George W. Bush, according to the Initiative and Referendum Institute and the University of Southern California.
Allan Saxe, a University of Texas at Austin political science professor, called ballot initiatives and referendums a good democratic tool. "Ironically, it would take an amendment to make the initiative process part of our legal system," he said.
Even without that option, some see legalized marijuana as inevitable.
"Incrementally is the way most policies get made," said Neil, adding that Republicans Against Marijuana Prohibition are making inroads in the GOP. "I would expect them to pressure candidates to address this."
That may begin as decriminalization accepted by the Legislature, she said.
Fox noted that lawmakers in Rhode Island, meanwhile, may soon become the first in the country to end marijuana prohibition and regulate and tax marijuana.
"Some may think that supporting sensible reforms may cost them political capital, but this is no longer the case," Fox said. "An increasing majority of Americans want to regulate marijuana like alcohol, and politicians would be wise to pay attention to their constituents on this issue."
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Pro-marijuana advocates plant seeds for next session - Daily Progress Jacksonville, TX: News
Author: John Austin
Contact: Contact Us - Daily Progress Jacksonville, TX: Site
Photo Credit: Elaine Thompson
Website: Daily Progress Jacksonville, TX
But it's unlikely to happen anytime soon in Texas, where citizens don't have the kind of access to referendums that advocates for relaxed drug laws have used in places such as Oregon and Colorado.
That leaves pro-marijuana advocates here vowing a return to the Legislature to again lobby for decriminalization - if not full legalization.
"For some reason, state lawmakers have always been behind the curve of public opinion when it comes to marijuana policy reform," said Morgan Fox, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project.
"So far, the only laws regulating marijuana similarly to alcohol and making it legal for adults have been passed by the voters," he said.
Heather Fazio, the group's Texas political director, said she's already preparing for the next round, even though setbacks from the last legislative session are still fresh.
Fazio said she's "bummed" that lawmakers didn't pass a proposal to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana this year.
"But we did a lot right. We're working with the cards that we're dealt," she said.
With the exception of a medical marijuana bill that drew criticism as too limited, lawmakers crushed nearly every effort at liberalizing marijuana laws. Fazio hopes next year they will join 16 other state legislatures that have passed decriminalization bills.
Pro-marijuana advocates tout their grassroots support in the state. A University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll last year found that 49 percent of registered voters support legalized marijuana. Thirty-two percent favor legalization of small quantities, while 17 percent back legalization of any quantity.
Rep. David Simpson, a Tea Party-backed Republican from Longview, authored a proposal to legalize marijuana because, he argued, God made the plant and state legislators have no right to make it illegal.
Simpson recently announced that he's running for a state Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler. Fazio said she expects the East Texas conservative to bring his bill back if he wins.
Such a bill may be advocates' only hope of change.
Jim Henson, a government lecturer who directs the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin, said interest in relaxed marijuana laws "never reaches critical mass."
But there's also a logistical hurdle: Ballot initiatives that give advocates a tool to plant the seeds of marijuana reform elsewhere aren't available in Texas, noted Katharine Neil, a postdoctoral fellow in drug policy at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy.
"Unfortunately, we don't have that," Neil said. "That's really been a key in terms of the arena they want to fight in."
Two-dozen states have ballot initiatives that allow issues to reach a public vote with the signatures of enough registered voters.
Such initiatives ran out of steam in Texas in the '90s when Republicans replaced a pro-referendum plank from the party platform with an anti-referendum stance under former Gov. George W. Bush, according to the Initiative and Referendum Institute and the University of Southern California.
Allan Saxe, a University of Texas at Austin political science professor, called ballot initiatives and referendums a good democratic tool. "Ironically, it would take an amendment to make the initiative process part of our legal system," he said.
Even without that option, some see legalized marijuana as inevitable.
"Incrementally is the way most policies get made," said Neil, adding that Republicans Against Marijuana Prohibition are making inroads in the GOP. "I would expect them to pressure candidates to address this."
That may begin as decriminalization accepted by the Legislature, she said.
Fox noted that lawmakers in Rhode Island, meanwhile, may soon become the first in the country to end marijuana prohibition and regulate and tax marijuana.
"Some may think that supporting sensible reforms may cost them political capital, but this is no longer the case," Fox said. "An increasing majority of Americans want to regulate marijuana like alcohol, and politicians would be wise to pay attention to their constituents on this issue."
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Pro-marijuana advocates plant seeds for next session - Daily Progress Jacksonville, TX: News
Author: John Austin
Contact: Contact Us - Daily Progress Jacksonville, TX: Site
Photo Credit: Elaine Thompson
Website: Daily Progress Jacksonville, TX
