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A Texas Democratic senator brought the issue of marijuana legalization to the Senate floor on Thursday, seeking to attach to an unrelated resolution an amendment that would\u2019ve allowed Texans to vote on ending prohibition at the ballot box.<\/p>\n
But the symbolic proposal was ultimately shut down. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), who presides over the Senate, agreed to another member\u2019s point of order, deeming the cannabis amendment not germane to the broader legislation.<\/p>\n
As advocates wait to see what the Senate will do with House-passed bills to decriminalize marijuana<\/a> and expand the state\u2019s medical cannabis program<\/a>, the procedural defeat raises some concerns that the anti-legalization presiding officer of the chamber will similarly move to quash more modest reform proposals.<\/p>\n Sen. Roland Gutierrez (D) did get a chance to speak to his amendment on the floor before it was blocked from consideration, saying it would offer Texans \u201can opportunity to vote on the legalization of the consumption and production of cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n Today, I filed an amendment to HJR 126 that would have allowed the people of #Texas<\/a> to vote on the legalization of #Cannabis<\/a>.<\/p>\n This would boost our economy, be a huge benefit for our farmers and would allow those who need it, like veterans, the opportunity to have it legally.\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/oyuWXAItzD<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Senator Roland Gutierrez (@RolandForTexas) May 4, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The senator\u2019s measure aimed to expand a provision of the resolution\u2019s proposed constitutional amendment that would establish the right of people to engage in farming and horticultural activities on property they own or lease. He sought to add the right of people to \u201ccultivate cannabis for personal and commercial consumption.\u201d<\/p>\n Because the overall resolution<\/a> would amend the state Constitution, it requires voter approval. In that way, if adopted, the amendment would have effectively given Texans an opportunity to vote on legalization as part of a broader change.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve studied this issue at great length,\u201d the senator said, adding that legalization would generate billions of dollars of revenue, create tens of thousands of jobs and give people who\u2019ve been criminalized over cannabis a chance to get \u201cback on track.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEvery state around the state of Texas has legalized cannabis,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are losing revenue to those states around us.\u201d<\/p>\n Gutierrez also blasted the Nixon administration, saying the former president was \u201cthe most impactful at putting a negative stigma on this issue\u201d and that he ignored the recommendations of a committee he formed that urged federal decriminalization of marijuana. Instead, Nixon \u201ccut a deal with Congress\u201d to place cannabis in Schedule I under federal statute, \u201cand it has not been removed since.\u201d<\/p>\n WATCH: @RolandForTexas<\/a> introduces an amendment to allow Texans to vote on legalizing cannabis.<\/p>\n For our veterans. For our farmers. For the countless Texans of color who\u2019ve had their entire lives ruined by minuscule pot charges.<\/p>\n It\u2019s time. It\u2019s way past time. #LegalizeIt<\/a> #txlege<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/or4ENlyueA<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Texas Democrats (@texasdemocrats) May 4, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n \u201cOur community wants to have this, and they want to be able to have the decision to vote on this,\u201d the senator said.<\/p>\n Another member then questioned the germaneness of the amendment and raised a point of order, which Patrick said was \u201cwell-taken and sustained\u201d without commenting directly on the legalization proposal.<\/p>\n \u2014 While the House has advanced marijuana decriminalization in this and earlier sessions, reform has consistently stalled out in the Senate<\/a> under Patrick\u2019s authority.<\/p>\n The lieutenant governor\u2019s office has not responded to several requests for comment on the marijuana bills that passed the House last month, and Patrick hasn\u2019t given any explicit indication that he\u2019s willing to allow the Senate to take them up.<\/p>\n But to Gutierrez\u2019s point about public opinion on the issue, nearly\u00a0three in four Texas voters (72 percent) support decriminalizing marijuana<\/a>, according to a University of Texas\/Texas Politics Project poll in December. More than half (55 percent), meanwhile, said they\u2019re in favor of broader legalization. Seventeen percent said it shouldn\u2019t be legal at all.<\/p>\n A more recent survey from the same institution similarly showed that a majority of Texas voters feel that\u00a0the state\u2019s marijuana laws should be \u201cless strict.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n On the local level in Texas, meanwhile, activists have succeeded in enacting municipal cannabis reform policies. And voters in San Antonio and Harker Heights will decide on local marijuana decriminalization ballot initiatives<\/a> this Saturday.<\/p>\n Key Senate Committee Chairman Says Marijuana Banking Bill Hearing Could Be Held Next Week<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Texas Senate Leader Blocks Democrat\u2019s Attempt To Let Voters Decide On Marijuana Legalization<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A Texas Democratic senator brought the issue of marijuana legalization to the Senate floor on Thursday, seeking to attach to an unrelated resolution an amendment that would\u2019ve allowed Texans to vote on ending prohibition at the ballot box. But the symbolic proposal was ultimately shut down. Lt. Gov. Dan PatrickContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":64598,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64597"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64597"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64597\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64599,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64597\/revisions\/64599"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Texas Senate Leader Blocks Democrat\u2019s Attempt To Let Voters Decide On Marijuana Legalization<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"