Why marijuana advocates are optimistic lawmakers will ease penalties for possession, expand medical access
AUSTIN (CBSNewsTexas.com) – Texans this year could get increased access to medical marijuana and see lower penalties for possession of the drug.
State lawmakers have filed 26 bills so far related to cannabis, and advocates are expressing confidence they'll see some priorities passed.
"I'm excited about this session," said Liz Miller, who testified Tuesday before the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence on HB 218, the first cannabis bill to get a hearing.
The Bedford resident has for years openly discussed using marijuana to treat debilitating pain caused by a rare connective tissue condition. What works best, she says, is the concentrate form of marijuana, and possessing that in any amount is a felony.
"I've said it under oath – in front of lawmakers, in front of law enforcement," she said. "If I wasn't committing a felony on a regular basis, I wouldn't be able to be sitting here talking to you today."
She gets away with it, she says, in part because of who she is, and she feels compelled to speak out for those jailed for doing exactly the same thing she does.
"A little old white lady can walk around all day talking about committing a felony and no one bothers me," she said. "So if they don't arrest me, I will continue to point out that hypocrisy to them."
Representative Joe Moody of El Paso authored HB 218, which would make possession of an ounce or less of marijuana a Class C misdemeanor, the equivalent of a traffic ticket.
That's regardless of whether a person possesses an ounce of the marijuana leaf, which would currently be a Class B misdemeanor, or the concentrate, which would be a felony.
Moody told colleagues the bill would prevent tens of thousands of arrests annually.
"It requires courts to give the person who's ticketed deferred adjudication probation and, if the person completes that, expunge the record of the offense upon their request," said Moody.
None of the five witnesses spoke against the bill, criticizing only that it didn't go further.
Texas NORML executive director, Jax James, considers it likely the measure will pass.
She says a lot has changed since the last legislative session.
"We've seen in a lot of different cities over the last year these de-prioritization efforts at the local level passing with, I mean, super majorities, massive amounts of support," she said.
Enrollment in the Texas Compassion Use Program, the state's medical marijuana program, has also surged from 4,182 patients two years ago to 45,440 last month.
Another promising sign? The Texas Senate, where many cannabis related bills have died in the past, has already referred several to committee.
"I absolutely think that we will be able to address the medical program here in Texas," said James of the other bill she's expecting to see passed this session.
Republican Representative Stephanie Klick of Tarrant County, who wrote the law that created the TCUP in 2015, has filed legislation that would allow its patients access to stronger, more effective levels of THC, something former Dallas Cowboy Jay Novacek has lobbied for on behalf of his son.
It would also make patients suffering from chronic pain, like Miller, eligible for the program for the first time.
Miller said she's trying to stay cautiously optimistic.
The Texas Legislature has just a few months to get its work done, but so far, the cannabis bill have yet to hit any roadblocks.