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Austin to Vote on Cannabis Law Enforcement Reforms

Austin to Vote on Cannabis Law Enforcement Reforms

Austin cannabis reform vote happening in May

Residents in Austin, Texas will have the opportunity to vote on cannabis enforcement reforms in May.

Voters in Austin, Texas in May will vote on ending the enforcement of low-level cannabis offenses and no-knock raids by law enforcement, KXAN reports. The City Clerk’s Office on Monday qualified the ballot measure, known as the Austin Freedom Act.

Last year, the City Council approved a resolution prohibiting Austin police from spending city funds on lab tests to distinguish hemp from THC-rich cannabis in personal possession cases – a move meant to end arrests and fines for low-level cannabis possession.

Advocates submitted the petition signatures to officials last month. At the time, Ken Casaday, president of the Austin Police Association, said the 2021 resolution had already changed how the city police enforce cannabis laws and he didn’t “really see the point” of the initiative. He indicated that Austin police don’t make arrests for “low amounts” of cannabis.

Mike Siegel, political director of Ground Game Texas, which is backing the campaign, said the initiative would codify that “current informal policy.”

Texas House Votes To Decriminalize Marijuana

Texas House Votes To Decriminalize Marijuana

Texas house votes to decriminalize marijuana

The Texas House of Representatives on Thursday approved bills to decriminalize marijuana possession and significantly expand the state’s medical cannabis program.

These are the latest developments to come amid a week that has seen multiple pieces of reform legislation advance in the chamber, including separate measures to reduce penalties for possessing marijuana concentrates and require the state to study the therapeutic potential of psychedelics like psilocybin and MDMA.

The bill to decriminalize possession of up to one ounce of cannabis, making the offense a class C misdemeanor that does not come with the threat of jail time, was approved on second reading in the chamber by a voice vote.

The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Erin Zwiener (D), would also end the threat of being arrested for low-level possession and give people the opportunity to avoid a conviction by providing for deferrals and dismissals. A final vote on third reading is still needed to formally send the bill to the Senate.

The House approved a cannabis decriminalization bill in 2019, but it did not advance in the Senate that session.

The separate medical cannabis expansion proposal was given final passage in the House in a 134-12 vote, sending it to the Senate. It would add cancer, chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as conditions that could qualify people for the state’s limited medical cannabis program. The bill passed in the House Public Health Committee earlier this month.

The legislation would further allow the Department of State Health Services to add more qualifying conditions via administrative rulemaking. And it would also raise the THC cap for medical marijuana products from 0.5 percent to five percent.

While advocates appreciate that Texas lawmakers are moving to expand the state’s existing program, they feel it can be improved upon and hope to see amendments to give more patients access to cannabis when it arrives in the Senate.