Texas Legislators File Bills Poised to Decriminalize Marijuana

Texas State legislators filed multiple bills to decriminalize simple marijuana possession shortly after the November elections. If passed, a special type of court would also be established, solely for first-time offenders. The criminal offenses for marijuana possession would be reclassified as well.

The reason for the bill is to reduce criminal possession of an ounce or less of marijuana, Houston Chronicle reports. The last attempts to decriminalize marijuana possession in Texas were in 2015, and all attempts failed. Texas has also attempted to legalize recreational marijuana, but those attempts have also failed.

Senate Bill 339, Compassionate Use Act, allows some patients with epilepsy and some chronic conditions to use CBD oils. That is one step in the right direction. It is expected that the new bill will pass.

Representative Jason Isaac said, “We’re spending our tax dollars on incarcerating [people that don’t deserve to be incarcerated] because they got caught with a small amount of marijuana. These are people that we probably subsidize their public education, we probably subsidize where they went to a state school, and now they’re branded as a criminal when they go to do a background check.”

Isaac declined to co-sponsor a previous bill because it just wasn’t the right time. However, now he thinks it’s the right time. He’s pledged (publicly) that he will be part of the new efforts to decriminalize simple marijuana possession.

The proposals expected to be discussed are House Bill 58, House Bill 81, House Bill 82, Senate Joint Resolution 17, Senate Joint Resolution 18 and Senate Bill 170. These are all marijuana-related in hopes of decriminalizing possession, full medical marijuana and recreational marijuana.