The Texas House just advanced HB 1325, a bill that would allow for agricultural growth, manufacturing and production of hemp, without objection. This is a historic first for Texas farmers! Now that the bill has made it out of the House, it will move on to the Senate.
Ask your Senator to support industrial hemp in Texas!
House Bill 1325, authored by Rep. Tracy King, D- Batesville, allows farmers to grow hemp as industrial crops under a regulated state program. Additionally, it will legalize hemp-derived products like CBD oil. The debate over whether hemp and marijuana are the same thing have kept such bills from passing previously. Unlike marijuana, hemp and its by-products contain less than .3 percent of THC, which produces the “high” in marijuana.
The bill passed by a voice vote and will need to be voted through once more before it heads to the Senate.
On Thursday, the Texas House will debate another cannabis-related bill — one that would decriminalize possession of an ounce or less of marijuana.
House Bill 63, authored by Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, would downgrade the penalty of jail time with a fine of no more than $250. Current laws define possession of small amounts of marijuana as a Class B misdemeanor, and those who are convicted face up to 180 days in jail and criminal records for the rest of their lives.
Under the new law, only people who receive more than two fines will face misdemeanor charges in criminal court.
According to Moody, in previous statement to lawmakers:
“It [criminalization of small marijuana amounts] actually makes us less safe because that arrest takes an officer off the street for up to half a shift with processing and paperwork, then further overcrowds our jails and clogs our courts. And it does absolutely nothing to deter marijuana use since usage has remained steady for years.”
