marijuana

“Small possession of marijuana is not the type of violation that we want to stockpile jails with,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday.

The number of misdemeanor marijuana prosecutions in Dallas County declined from 2018 to 2019, but Black residents continue to be arrested at higher rates, according to a report by SMU's Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center.

Banned sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson was not on the Olympic roster released Tuesday by USA Track and Field, a decision that means the American champion’s positive test for marijuana will cost her a chance at running on the relay team in Tokyo, in addition to her spot in the 100-meter individual race.

The new policy comes after a recent report found Black and Latino residents in Dallas are more likely to be arrested for low-level offenses.

According to the latest UT/TT Poll, most Texas voters support expanded gambling and would legalize marijuana. Half would leave Confederate statues and monuments where they are. And they're divided on whether to change state abortion laws or leave them as is.

The legislation removes cannabis from the list of federally controlled substances and expunges low-level convictions and arrests. But the GOP Senate is not expected to take up the bill.

Several bills have been filed for the next Texas Legislative session that would decriminalize or legalize the use of marijuana in the state. One state representative said legalization could help to fend off a looming $4.6 billion deficit in Texas.

State lawmakers argue that the tax revenue and jobs created by a retail market for cannabis could help the state devastated by the coronavirus pandemic.

While Texas is far behind when it comes to legalization of any currently illicit drug, Katharine Neill Harris, a drug policy fellow at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy, tells Texas Standard that that could change in the upcoming legislative session as Texas learns from the growing number of states where pot is legal.

A nationwide push to relax drug laws took a significant step forward Tuesday as five more states legalized marijuana for adults and voters made Oregon the first state to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of street drugs such as cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine.

Over 20 states have designated marijuana businesses essential during the coronavirus shutdown. Cannabis activists say it's a remarkable development, given that pot remains illegal under federal law.