On a typical night, Flamingo Cantina is packed with patrons seeking out its “good vibes music.” But on the unusually quiet Wednesday after New Year’s Eve, as the buzzed frat boys and trashed tourists who flock to Austin’s Sixth Street take a sabbatical from the sauce, this Rastafarian watering hole hosted a wholly different crowd. “We’re […]
Texas
Marijuana Decriminalization Bills Filed In Texas With Bipartisan Support
Decriminalization of marijuana in Texas is back on the table as nearly a half dozen bills related to the drug’s use were filed on Monday for the 86th legislative session. Recreational and most medical uses of marijuana are still prohibited in the state, the exception being low-THC cannabis for qualifying intractable epilepsy patients under the […]
New Ads Aim To Change Rural Texans Perception About Medical Marijuana
Ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, Texans will be seeing — and hearing — a lot of campaign ads. But, on top of the typical election year barrage of political commercials, some rural Texans will also be seeing a very different kind of ad. When you first see an ad featuring a man in a cowboy hat, […]
Texas GOP Signals New Era On Marijuana At State Convention
Texas, seemingly, is headed for marijuana reform sooner than expected. The state’s Republican Party passed a platform Saturday afternoon supporting major changes in the way the state treats medical marijuana and those found in possession of less than an ounce of pot, signaling that years of harsh prohibition could be over as soon as 2019. […]
Texas’ dopey rules on medical marijuana need a rewrite
Micah Jensen’s mom noticed something was wrong after his third birthday. The little boy forgot how to go potty. He hadn’t learned many words, but his vocabulary became even more limited. He would line up his toy cars in a row and just stare at them. Then the epileptic seizures began. And he became violent, […]
Texas Backs Off Changes That Could’ve Led to CBD Confiscation, for Now
The Texas Department of State Health Services has tapped the brakes on a proposed protocol that could’ve seen all food and supplements containing cannabidiol oil removed from Texas store shelves, thanks to a deluge of comments sent to the agency last month in support of the products. “The protocol that was proposed had only addressed hemp […]
Dad who gave his autistic daughter illegal marijuana is qualified to be her guardian, judge rules
A father who administers cannabis vapor to his severely autistic daughter is qualified to be her guardian, a Texas judge has ruled. Judge Brenda Hull Thompson ruled that the father, Mark Zartler, and his wife, Christy, are both qualified to be guardians for their 18-year-old daughter, Zara, the Dallas Morning News reports. Such hearings are […]
6-Year Old Girl Delivered First Dose Of Legal Medical Marijuana In Texas
A 6-year-old Texas girl made history on Thursday. The Central Texas girl, who suffers from intractable epilepsy, became the first person in Texas to receive a legal delivery of medical marijuana grown and produced here in the Lone Star State. Doctors prescribed for her the low-THC cannabis oil, in the hopes it could help. “For […]
With Medical Marijuana On The Way In Texas, Who Will Be Able To Buy It?
In just a few weeks, medical marijuana will legally be sold in Texas. The plants are nearly finished growing in South-Central Texas, which means workers will soon harvest and cultivate them, drying them out and preparing to extract low-level cannibidiol. Once that medicine is in a liquid form, and packaged in drops, the first sales of medical […]
Texas Hands Out First Medical Marijuana License
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas has issued its first medical marijuana license, and two more companies are expected to be awarded licenses soon. Cansortium Texas, which is a part of Florida-based Cansortium Holdings, received a license Friday, the Austin American-Statesman reported . The company will be allowed to grow, process and sell medical marijuana for […]
Marijuana Decriminalization Bill in Texas Runs out of Time
Time ran out in the Texas House late Thursday on a proposed law that would have reduced the penalty for possession of small amounts of marijuana in the state to below that of most traffic tickets. A midnight deadline passed without the full House taking up House Bill 81 for initial consideration, meaning it and […]
Support for Legal Marijuana in Texas Is on the Rise
Opposition to legal marijuana is dropping in Texas, with fewer than one in five respondents to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll saying they are against legalization in any form. Support for marijuana only for medical use has dropped over the last two years, but support for legalization for private use — both in […]
These 11 States May Change Their Marijuana Laws in 2017
After four states legalized recreational marijuana last year and twice that many approved new medical marijuana laws, at least eleven more are considering changing their laws in 2017. Here are the states and the legislation they’re proposing: 1. Connecticut Not only are lawmakers hoping to expand Connecticut’s five-year-old medical marijuana legislation, but Martin Looney, the […]
Houston DA Denounces Prosecuting Minor Marijuana Offenses
When it comes to cannabis, Texas is one of the unfriendliest states in America. Recreational marijuana, medical marijuana, CBD (the non-psychoactive cannabis extract) and even hemp are all still prohibited in the Lone Star State. But the largest city in Texas is moving in the direction of decriminalization. Marijuana will remain illegal in Houston, but […]
On First Day Allowed, Texas Lawmakers File Multiple Marijuana Decriminalization Bills
Only a week after several other states including Florida and California voted to weaken marijuana restrictions, some Texas lawmakers are moving in the same direction. Texas legislators presented several proposals to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana in the first day of bill filing for the 2017 legislative session. Introduced in the bills are proposals that […]
Texas Businesses Can Benefit From Decriminalizing Marijuana
Texans who are arrested for possessing small amounts of marijuana shouldn’t be locked out of jobs and haunted by minor lapses in judgment for the rest of their lives, business and legislative leaders say. As acceptance of marijuana — medical and otherwise — grows nationally and in Texas, members of both major political parties in […]
Survey Finds That 68% of Texans Favor Cannabis Decriminalization
AUSTIN, TX — Over two thirds of Texas voters support decriminalizing marijuana in the Lone Star State, according to the latest statewide poll released Wednesday. The University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll, which asked voters about a variety of political topics, found 68% of respondents support replacing criminal penalties for marijuana possession with a civil violation and fine. Only 26% […]
How Texas Became a New Front in the War Over Marijuana Legalization
Shortly before 10 p.m. on a Wednesday in April, Tammy Castro was describing the heartbreaking story of her son’s losing battle against drug abuse. The crowded Capitol conference room, packed with marijuana-rights activists, fell silent. Marijuana started her son on a downward spiral to his death, Castro said, holding back tears. “If you pass this […]
