Legalize Marijuana in Texas?

[tebor79]

what are the odds that the major cities of Texas like Dallas, Austin , or Houston could make possession of an ounce a ticketable misdemeanor. These cities are pretty liberal in their voting.

[texan55]

Originally Posted by tebor79

what are the odds that the major cities of Texas like Dallas, Austin , or Houston could make possession of an ounce a ticketable misdemeanor. These cities are pretty liberal in their voting.

it already is in travis county. i'm pretty sure that goes for the entire state but it's up to the officer's discretion or the department's policy.

[Aquitaine]

which is why I somewhat despise Texas on this topic.

And, presumably, all the other states that aren't willing to give the DEA the proverbial middle finger in allowing this?

Legalizing MM puts you in direct conflict with the feds in a bizarre back-and-forth where they kinda-sorta agree to look the other way even though you're kinda-sorta breaking federal law even if the state says it's OK. At the same time, hardly any politicians get elected by promising to be tough on those violent potheads, so there's little incentive for the elected federal government to enforce the law, even if the poor guys in the actual enforcement arm are supposed to be doing exactly that.

FWIW, as a libertarian, it is totally OK with me if you want to smoke pot or anything else, so long as you're doing it in private. There are plenty of Texans who also won't give a damn. But this does not translate to the legislature. You are comparing a Texan cultural norm with Texas politics, and the two are very different animals.

That's not to say that there aren't social conservatives out there who do believe that it should be illegal, but even they have to admit that the "War on drugs" is a joke at this point.

Legalization has to happen on the federal level first. The states don't have enough leeway to do it right (as the OP pointed out with the bizarre state of affairs California has).

[zhugeliang1]

could make possession of an ounce a ticketable misdemeanor.

Do the cops really weigh it out to see if it's an ounce or what? What if it's over an ounce?

[tebor79]

Originally Posted by zhugeliang1

Do the cops really weigh it out to see if it's an ounce or what? What if it's over an ounce?

I believe they do in California. not from personal experience, but from some reality crime show I saw on television.

But several states have already reduced penalties to a ticket. Oregon. Massachusetts, New York, I'm pretty sure have.

some cities have too.

State Info - marijuana laws by state.