Home to more than 260,000 people, the West Texas town of Lubbock is no stranger to passing local laws by petition. In 2021, residents overwhelmingly approved a local ban on abortion.
marijuana
Posted in
Juvenile Justice
In a Central Texas county, high schoolers are jailed on felony charges for vaping what could be legal hemp
Police often can’t tell if a cannabis vape pen is derived from marijuana or legal hemp, like the delta-8 products on display in gas stations across Texas. That doesn’t stop them from making felony arrests in high schools.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2023
Texas veterans vow to protect the state’s hemp market as one state lawmaker hopes to crack down
The new delta-8 hemp products, which are widely available, can produce a high similar to marijuana’s. State Sen. Charles Perry said he and his peers never intended for such products to reach the market.
Posted in
Politics
Voters in five Texas cities approved decriminalizing marijuana. Now city officials are standing in the way.
Some local leaders say they worry the changes violate state law, while residents who supported decriminalizing marijuana say the pushback disrespects democracy.
Posted in
Politics
Five Texas cities vote to decriminalize having small amounts of marijuana
Voters in Denton, San Marcos, Killeen, Elgin and Harker Heights overwhelmingly supported the local ballot propositions to decriminalize low-level possession. These moves followed Austin voters’ similar decision in May.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Biden is calling for marijuana possession pardons. But that doesn’t mean it’ll happen in Texas.
Biden’s federal pardons will help at least 6,500 people, though most possession crimes are charged at the state level. Gov. Greg Abbott hasn’t yet said whether he’ll follow suit. Gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke was quick to support the measure.
Posted in
Environment
Hemp was supposed to save Texas farmers during a drought. It hasn’t yet.
Hemp advocates promised the Texas Legislature the crop was drought resistant. The 2022 drought has proven otherwise. And farmers are abandoning the nascent market.
Posted in
Texas 2022 Elections
Analysis: Texas politicians can change their minds. But it helps if the public goes first.
Gov. Greg Abbott’s openness to marijuana decriminalization shows that the state, while conservative, isn’t immune to larger trends.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Austin voters could decriminalize small amounts of pot in May
“Small possession of marijuana is not the type of violation that we want to stockpile jails with,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday.
Posted in
Texas 2022 Elections
Beto O’Rourke’s blunt support of marijuana legalization gives advocates hope for policy change
While the Texas Legislature has been hesitant to embrace policy change, advocates hope the O’Rourke campaign’s attention to marijuana legalization will give the issue a political boost.
