Posted Monday, January 5th 2015 @ 5am by iHeartRadio’s Nik RajkovicIs Texas the next big test for legalizing weed? State lawmakers will debate several pro-marijuana bills in 2015.
“There’s going to be a full legalization bill to regulate and tax marijuana similar to alcohol,” says Jason Miller at the Houston chapter of NORML. “There is going to be a civil penalty bill which is going to decriminalize small possession amounts, and there’s also going to be a comprehensive medical marijuana bill.”
Miller says states which have already legalized weed have seen several benefits.
“Crime is down, there’s been a lot of money that’s been going to education through tax revenue, and we’ve also seen people dying from overdose of prescription pain killers is actually 25 percent less,” he tells KTRH News.
While the new Abbott administration is expected to maintain a hard-line against marijuana reform, there are some Tea Party-style conservatives who have expressed support for it.
Miller is hoping Texas will adopt a model similar to Colorado, which took in nearly eight million dollars just last July from its marijuana tax.
“In Colorado, we have entrepreneurs who are profiting and investing in the stock market, in the economy and creating jobs,” he says. “Here in Texas, the criminals are only investing in more crime, things like human trafficking and things that are really bad.”
Vote for Texas here: http://www.ktrh.com/articles/houston-news-121300/poll-reefer-madness-in-texas-legislature-13115098/
(POLL: Should Texas Legalize Marijuana? | WF News)