Texas House OKs removing jail time for small amounts of pot
Having small amounts of marijuana in Texas would mean a fine and no jail time under a bill advancing in the Republican-controlled Legislature.
The bill that passed the Texas House by a 98-43 vote Monday is a milestone in Texas, where GOP leaders have been resistant to relaxing marijuana laws. It would lower criminal penalties for possession of an ounce or less of marijuana to a Class C misdemeanor.
Lawmakers say it would help save resources for law enforcement and keep low-level offenders out of the criminal justice system.
Democrat Rep. Joe Moody changed his original bill that would have decriminalized possession of small amounts of pot. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signaled support last year for reducing penalties to a lower misdemeanor offense but stopped short of publicly endorsing decriminalization.
“H.B. 63 has been a five-year-long journey,” said Moody. “It’s one that I began as a prosecutor when I saw firsthand how taxpayer dollars were being wasted on an ineffective enforcement system that ruined lives over such a petty offense. Each year, Texas spends more than 730 million dollars on over 75,000 arrests, almost all of which are for small, personal-use amounts of marijuana”
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