Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
Inside an old restaurant a short walk from Allen's Landing, the birthplace of Houston, the Pachyderm Club holds its luncheons.
The group is staunchly Republican, mostly older and Anglo, but with a few younger Asians and Hispanics in the mix. It could easily be mistaken for a small Rotary Club except for the prevalence of elephant lapel pins.
But the most surprising thing about the crowd is another kind of pin, worn by a few of the Pachyderm Club members. "RAMP" is the message, an acronym for Republicans Against Marijuana Prohibition.
"You've not seen one person overdose on marijuana," said Jane Bock, a lifelong Republican who's president of Memorial West Republican Women. "Alcohol has done a lot worse damage."
When people in a group like this change their minds about marijuana, you know Texas is changing. And if you think it's just a cause for the younger generation in this club, think again. The pro-marijuana faction is dominated by the gray hairs in the group.
"I think people are more open-minded," Bock said.
Texas is one of the most conservative states in the nation. But in a part of the country where people joke about Willie Nelson's passion for pot, public attitudes toward legalizing marijuana are dramatically changing. Nowhere was that more evident than in a legislative meeting room in the state capitol, where a House committee this week approved a bill that would legalize marijuana in Texas.
"The community has changed their attitude about it," said Rachel Hooper, a former Harris County prosecutor. "And they want to see violent criminals in jail. And they see marijuana possession as a nonviolent offense."
A poll conducted early last year by the University of Texas and Texas Tribune indicated 49 percent of Texans believe marijuana should be legalized, not just for medical use but for all purposes. Only 23 percent of the surveyed registered voters believed the drug should be outlawed for all uses.
The shift in public opinion is so dramatic, politicians running for office are touting decriminalization as an election issue. One former prosecutor who recently ran for district attorney even spoke before a group of pro-marijuana demonstrators who marched around Houston City Hall over the weekend. Kim Ogg, who ran for Harris County district attorney, has sent out news releases touting her position on decriminalizing marijuana.
"I think Houston's ready for a reasonable policy on marijuana," said Ogg. "They're tired of their tax dollars being wasted putting kids in jail with real criminals. And it's not making any of us safer."
That argument strikes an emotional chord with Ann Lee, who's become one of the leaders of the Republican movement to legalize marijuana.
"Why are our jails now called the new plantations?" Lee said. "That is awful! In this great, wonderful, beautiful country of mine, we have ruined a whole generation of young minorities, both blacks and Latinos, by saddling them with a felony conviction."
Lee and her late husband started RAMP after her paraplegic son discovered marijuana helped relieve his severe nerve pain. An 85-year-old woman with white hair and an effervescent personality, she's convinced many of her fellow Republicans to change their long-standing opposition to legalization.
Even supporters of the legalization bill approved by the committee in Austin concede it has little chance of becoming law, at least this year. But the very fact that it passed through a committee of the conservative Texas House of Representatives offers testament to the state's dramatic change in attitude over the legalization of marijuana.
"The sea change has been people realizing that we do not have to support bad law," Lee said. "And to be a conservative, you do not support prohibition. Prohibition trumps everything that I believe as a Republican."
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: "Sea change" in attitude toward marijuana in Texas
Author: Doug Miller
Contact: Contact Us | khou
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: KHOU | Houston Breaking News, Weather, Traffic, Sports - KHOU.com
The group is staunchly Republican, mostly older and Anglo, but with a few younger Asians and Hispanics in the mix. It could easily be mistaken for a small Rotary Club except for the prevalence of elephant lapel pins.
But the most surprising thing about the crowd is another kind of pin, worn by a few of the Pachyderm Club members. "RAMP" is the message, an acronym for Republicans Against Marijuana Prohibition.
"You've not seen one person overdose on marijuana," said Jane Bock, a lifelong Republican who's president of Memorial West Republican Women. "Alcohol has done a lot worse damage."
When people in a group like this change their minds about marijuana, you know Texas is changing. And if you think it's just a cause for the younger generation in this club, think again. The pro-marijuana faction is dominated by the gray hairs in the group.
"I think people are more open-minded," Bock said.
Texas is one of the most conservative states in the nation. But in a part of the country where people joke about Willie Nelson's passion for pot, public attitudes toward legalizing marijuana are dramatically changing. Nowhere was that more evident than in a legislative meeting room in the state capitol, where a House committee this week approved a bill that would legalize marijuana in Texas.
"The community has changed their attitude about it," said Rachel Hooper, a former Harris County prosecutor. "And they want to see violent criminals in jail. And they see marijuana possession as a nonviolent offense."
A poll conducted early last year by the University of Texas and Texas Tribune indicated 49 percent of Texans believe marijuana should be legalized, not just for medical use but for all purposes. Only 23 percent of the surveyed registered voters believed the drug should be outlawed for all uses.
The shift in public opinion is so dramatic, politicians running for office are touting decriminalization as an election issue. One former prosecutor who recently ran for district attorney even spoke before a group of pro-marijuana demonstrators who marched around Houston City Hall over the weekend. Kim Ogg, who ran for Harris County district attorney, has sent out news releases touting her position on decriminalizing marijuana.
"I think Houston's ready for a reasonable policy on marijuana," said Ogg. "They're tired of their tax dollars being wasted putting kids in jail with real criminals. And it's not making any of us safer."
That argument strikes an emotional chord with Ann Lee, who's become one of the leaders of the Republican movement to legalize marijuana.
"Why are our jails now called the new plantations?" Lee said. "That is awful! In this great, wonderful, beautiful country of mine, we have ruined a whole generation of young minorities, both blacks and Latinos, by saddling them with a felony conviction."
Lee and her late husband started RAMP after her paraplegic son discovered marijuana helped relieve his severe nerve pain. An 85-year-old woman with white hair and an effervescent personality, she's convinced many of her fellow Republicans to change their long-standing opposition to legalization.
Even supporters of the legalization bill approved by the committee in Austin concede it has little chance of becoming law, at least this year. But the very fact that it passed through a committee of the conservative Texas House of Representatives offers testament to the state's dramatic change in attitude over the legalization of marijuana.
"The sea change has been people realizing that we do not have to support bad law," Lee said. "And to be a conservative, you do not support prohibition. Prohibition trumps everything that I believe as a Republican."
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: "Sea change" in attitude toward marijuana in Texas
Author: Doug Miller
Contact: Contact Us | khou
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: KHOU | Houston Breaking News, Weather, Traffic, Sports - KHOU.com
