Case Study: Softening Marijuana Laws In Texas

Softening Marijuana Laws in Texas

Softening Marijuana Laws in Texas Every year hundreds and thousands of Americans are arrested for marijuana possession, and or violations. According to an article on the Huffington Post www.huffingtonpost.com (Wing, 2012), there are far more people arrested for marijuana possession than those arrested for violent crimes in America. It also states that societal cost dealing with the war on drugs concerning marijuana exceeds 12 billion dollars annually. Twenty states have legalized marijuana for medical use under a doctor’s recommendation and two states have legalized for recreational use. This does not mean that it is still totally legal. Under the federal government,
Josh Schimberg is an executive director of the Texas Chapter of the National Organization for the Reform on marijuana laws, (www.norml.org) which works in order to change public opinion in order to repeal marijuana prohibition. Josh Schimberg states that the bill being proposed does not fully address the issues with marijuana laws in Texas, but it is a step in the right direction. He also goes on to say that in his personal opinion, HB 594 does not go far enough. “HB 594 does not prevent medical marijuana patients from being arrested, as it should. It does not provide legal mean of patients to get their medical marijuana.” If these bills are passed that would mean there would be fewer people being arrested and convicted for marijuana use. Schimberg also said that current marijuana laws are having a negative effect on society: “Since 1970, more than 20 million Americans have been arrested for marijuana offenses. This is a massive cost to tax payers, with the numbers well over a trillion dollars. And today, marijuana is still the most widely available, widely used illicit substance.” Schimberg continued to say, “The prohibition on marijuana, besides being based on faulty, arbitrary, and caprices evidence, has been an utter failure and resulted in the devastation of millions of
There was a picture that I found on my Twitter, it is split into two sections, on the left side it shows a joint and says “this simple dried herb is illegal” and on the left it has a little pill and says “ however, if a multinational drug company grinds up that herb, extracts the cannabis sativa and creates synthetic delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinaol, combines it with gelatin, glycerin, iron oxide red, iron oxide yellow, titanium dioxide, markets it to doctors and hospitals under the name Marinol and in the process makes a bunch of wealthy wall street investors even richer, then it’s ok”. Marijuana is a medicine and Texas should wake up and realize that they are imprisoning its citizens who need it for medical purposes. I also think positively about lessening the possession offences. People smoke weed for different reasons, and most marijuana users are harmless compared to someone who consumes alcohol or abuses hard drugs. If Texas can support the death penalty and very loose gun laws, do you think marijuana is the