To round out a huge week for cannabis reform in Texas last week, the House approved HB 441, the Texas cannabis decriminalization bill, with an 88-40 approval vote. This sends the bill to the Senate for debate and discussion, but it’s fate is uncertain. 

HB 441

This decriminalization bill, sponsored by Representative Erin Zwiener (D), would decriminalize the possession of cannabis up to one ounce. This possession will now be classified as a Class C misdemeanor with no threat of jail time. It gives people the opportunity to avoid a conviction by providing for deferrals and dismissals.

All a person needs to do is pay the $500 fine and enter a plea with no contest or guilty. Once a person does that their case will automatically be deferred for a year. If they follow the judge’s orders, then they avoid a criminal record and charges are dropped. 

Criminalization History

This change in decriminalization opens up opportunities for several people and fights the seemingly never ending war on drugs. Cannabis has been a controlled substance since the 1970s with the Controlled Substance Act. Since then, cannabis, whether it was associated with hemp or marijuana, was considered to be a Schedule I drug. This marked cannabis as an extremely dangerous drug for both medical professionals and the general public alike. 

But states have been reforming cannabis for years. First there was California in 1996 that legalized medical cannabis for qualifying citizens. 36 other states have followed in California’s footsteps and have legalized medical cannabis for citizens. There are also 12 states that have legalized recreational use cannabis across the state. The most recent states have done so through legislative measures instead of initiative measures or referendums on the ballot. New York and New Mexico are the latest, but there looks to be a few more even this year, like Louisiana and Minnesota. 

Future

In 2019, the House in Texas also approved of a decriminalization bill for cannabis. Unfortunately it died in the Senate thanks to the Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick (R), who is in charge of the Senate. And advocates worry that he may do the same thing again.  

Lt. Governor Patrick’s spokesperson in 2019 said he is “strongly opposed to weakening any laws against marijuana [and] remains wary of the various medicinal use proposals that could become a vehicle for expanding access to this drug.”

However in recent years many lawmakers have changed their opinions about cannabis as more and more states are legalizing both medical and recreational cannabis. Plus, in a recent poll, 60 percent of Texas citizens now approve of legalizing cannabis “for any use” whether it’s medical and/or recreational. 

With the changing times and opinions, HB 441 has a chance to pass, but it comes down to what the Senate says. 

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