Marijuana Legalization Texas: House Committee Approves Bill HB 2165 To Make Marijuana

[Tudo]

The Texas House of Representatives Criminal Jurisprudence Committee approved a bill 5-1 Wednesday that moves the state closer to legalizing marijuana for adults. Reuters

The Texas House of Representatives Criminal Jurisprudence Committee on Wednesday approved a bill 5-1 that moves the state closer to legalizing marijuana for adults, reports ABC affiliate KSAT. Introduced in March by David Simpson, R-Texas, HB 2165 would remove marijuana offenses from Texas statutes.
If marijuana became legal in Texas, the state would join four others that have already adopted laws that regulate and tax marijuana like alcohol. Colorado and Washington have implemented the regulated cultivation and sale of marijuana, and Alaska and Oregon are in the process of doing so. In Texas, 58 percent of voters believe marijuana should be legal for adults and that it should be regulated like alcohol, according to a 2013 survey conducted Public Policy Polling.
Although some pro-legalization advocates are heartened by the bill's success, others say it's unlikely to become law this year.
http://www.ibtimes.com/marijuana-le...-approves-bill-hb-2165-make-marijuana-1911806

 

[Tudo]

Pot legalization bill clears Texas House panel
Posted: Wednesday, May 6, 2015 7:47 pm | Updated: 7:57 pm, Wed May 6, 2015.
Pot legalization bill clears Texas House panel By Ryan McCrimmon | The Texas Tribune Midland Reporter-Telegram | 0 comments
Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect a second vote by the committee.
A proposal to legalize marijuana in Texas will head to the calendars committee, and possibly the House floor after it was approved by a House committee Wednesday evening.
House Bill 2165 by state Rep. David Simpson, R-Longview, would allow possession and delivery of marijuana beginning in September 2015. It would still be illegal to sell the drug to minors. The measure passed the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee on a 5-2 vote.
“I don’t believe that when God made marijuana he made a mistake that government needs to fix,” Simpson wrote in a March op-ed in the The Texas Tribune. He said the plant should be “regulated like tomatoes, jalapenos or coffee.”
The measure initially passed on a 5-1 vote, catching at least one member of the committee by surprise: state Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, who wasn’t present for the first vote. Leach asked Chairman Abel Herrero, D-Robstown, to take another vote on so he could register a vote against the measure. Leach said Herrero knew that he was opposed to legalizing pot. A second vote was taken.
The other no vote came from state Rep. Matt Shaheen, R-Plano.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://www.texastribune.org/2015/05/06/pot-legalization-bill-headed-house/





Read more: Pot legalization bill clears Texas House panel - MRT.com: Politics

 

[Kaskadian]

This is fantastic news; one step at a time!

 

[kakaman]

There is a for profit prison system in Texas This is not going to happen in Texas EVER

 

[Crusader Rabbit]

Wow, Texas may legalize marijuana for all adults before California does. Whoda thought?

 

[m314]

It's interesting seeing so many Republicans support legalization in Texas. Republican politicians in states like Florida have mostly been against legalization, even for medical use.

If they can pass this in a state as conservative and influential as Texas, it's only a matter of time before it's legalized federally.

 

[Jellyfish]

I think they're just playing chicken with the governor. They pass it and get the points for being progressive and "for the people", knowing the whole time the governor's gonna veto it anyway.