Zwiener files marijuana decriminalization bill
Joe Moody (D–El Paso), Speaker Pro Tempore of the Texas House of Representatives, and State Rep. Erin Zwiener (D–Driftwood) announced a two-pronged approach to cannabis law in Texas by filing two pieces of legislation.
House Bill 447, filed by Moody, would legalize cannabis and create a retail market for cannabis products, including marijuana. It would remain illegal to make cannabis available to people under 21 years of age.
Revenue collected from sales would be placed in a dedicated fund that supports both teacher retirements and teacher salaries in Texas public schools.
“Our current cannabis laws don’t make sense,” Zwiener said. “We’re leaving dollars on the table, wasting public safety funds on enforcement, and saddling Texans with unnecessary criminal records that harm their ability to find work and housing. It’s time to bring our cannabis laws into the 21st century, and I’m eager to get to work on reducing penalties for possession of cannabis.”
House Bill 441, filed by Zwiener, is the decriminalization effort championed by Moody in past sessions. The bill uses existing legal procedures in novel ways so that possession of a personal use amount of marijuana could only result in a ticket and a small fine, without an arrest or lasting criminal consequences.
The measure was passed by a supermajority of the House in 2019 but failed to advance in the Senate.
“One thing that’s become crystal clear in the years since I began working on cannabis policy is that there’s no moral or public safety issue involved here,” Moody said. “There is very much a fiscal issue, though, and numerous other states are now raking in tax revenue from cannabis sales that Texas needs more than ever. We can’t say that Texas is the best state for business when we’re literally turning it away.”
Possession of less than two ounces of marijuana was the State of Texas’ as well as Hays County’s largest portion of arrests from 2014 to 2018.
Texas tallied between 70,000 and 80,000 arrests per year for low level possession of marijuana, equating to 10% of total arrests statewide. The next highest number of arrests was between 48,000 to 54,000 arrests per year for driving while intoxicated.
Possession of marijuana less than 2 ounces also brought in the highest number of arrests in Hays County for those years, between 8 and 11% of total arrests; 509 in 2014, 613 in 2015, 806 in 2016, 815 in 2017 and 866 in 2018.
Possession of marijuana in amounts less than 4 ounces became a citation eligible offense in San Marcos earlier this year, and the Hays County Sheriff’s Office directed their officers to exercise Cite and Release as much as possible to keep the jail population low during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Cite and release is not as ambitious of a policy as we’d like to think it is,” Mano Amiga Campaign Fellow Samantha Benavides said. “People are still getting booked, mugshots taken, paying court fines and fees, appearing before a judge, taking fingerprints, it’s just delaying the process (of arrest).”
From May through October, at least eight people in San Marcos received a citation or were arrested for marijuana related charges and 41 countywide.
“We have people in Colorado making fortunes off of selling marijuana, and we have people in Texas whose lives are being turned upside down for not even selling it but just having small amounts,” Benavides said.
Moody was enthusiastic about Zwiener’s filing of the bill he once carried. He said, “I have absolute confidence in her taking the reins on decriminalization. She also brings a perspective and voice different than my own to this conversation. This is an effort favored by Texans of all different backgrounds, and it’s important that they’re reflected in those leading it in the legislature.”
Other cannabis-related bills are expected this session as well, such as an expansion of the state’s small medical marijuana program. Moody sees these as complementary rather than competing efforts: “The different approaches here all have the same goal: ending a status quo we know has never worked, one that’s cost taxpayers billions of dollars and stolen opportunities from countless Texans saddled with unjustified criminal records. Frankly, anything is an improvement over what we’ve been doing.”
Each bill will be considered after the Texas Legislature convenes after January 12, 2021.