Texas

City Council members in Lubbock, Texas have rejected a cannabis decriminalization proposal, leaving the issue for voters to decide during next year’s election.

Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) in Texas has received a nearly $300,000 grant from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture to study the use of hemp as animal feed.

Cannabis advocates in Lubbock, Texas on Tuesday submitted their petition to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of cannabis in the city after collecting 10,540 signatures, which is more than twice what it takes to force local officials to vote on the proposal.

Texas Agricultural Commissioner Sid Miller (R) said that he believes if medical cannabis reforms were to get a vote in the state legislature, they would be supported by “70% to 80%” of lawmakers because “we have such good science on it.”

The Texas House approved a cannabis decriminalization proposal last week, reducing penalties for possession up to an ounce. The bill moves next to the Senate, which rejected similar legislation in 2019 and 2021.

The Texas House voted 121-23 in favor of a measure to increase allowable THC levels in the state’s medical cannabis program and add chronic pain to the program’s qualifying conditions list.

Another federal judge ruled last week that the federal ban on cannabis consumers possessing firearms is unconstitutional.

Since Killeen, Texas voters opted to decriminalize low-level cannabis possession last November, city police have released 77% of the individuals they encountered who were in possession of cannabis.

The Texas House Public Health Committee has advanced a medical cannabis proposal that would remove the state’s 1% THC cap, establish a 10 mg volumetric dose for the program, and open the program up to patients experiencing chronic pain.

Lawmakers in the Texas House Public Health Committee held hearings for a bill this week that would raise the THC limit for medical cannabis products in the state from 1% to 5%.

Texas lawmakers may consider a proposal to let municipalities establish their own local cannabis legalization laws.

Texas officials have opened the application process for licensing new dispensaries under the state’s limited medical cannabis program.

Bell County, Texas District Attorney Henry Garza has requested Killeen Police Chief Charles Kimble to resume making arrests for low-level cannabis possession, even though voters passed a resolution to end enforcement.

Texas officials said the state’s medical cannabis patient count has seen a 10% month-over-month increase over the last 18 months.

Five Texas cities — Denton, Elgin, Harker Heights, Killeen, and San Marcos — voted in favor of decriminalizing low-level cannabis possession during Tuesday’s midterm elections.

A mom in Texas is in the process of being evicted from her federally-funded housing due to the possession and consumption of state-legal medical cannabis.

A recent survey found that a majority of Texans support both medical and adult-use cannabis legalization.

Voters in Killeen, Texas will decide this November whether to decriminalize cannabis possession within city limits.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is continuing to advocate for significant cannabis reforms and recently discussed the racist, classist, and authoritarian history of prohibition.

Voters in Denton, Texas will consider a ballot initiative during the midterm elections that, if passed, would decriminalize low-level cannabis possession by blocking local police from enforcing misdemeanor cannabis crimes.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller (R) stated his objection to cannabis prohibition and emphasized the value of medical cannabis as evidenced by real-world data and research from similarly conservative states.

The Texas Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of the statewide ban on smokable hemp, citing the state’s long history of prohibiting and regulating the production and possession of hemp.

Voters in Austin, Texas have overwhelmingly approved a measure to decriminalize cannabis possession and ban no-knock search warrants in the city.

The city council in Austin, Texas is considering whether to let some city-employed first responders access the state’s medical cannabis program.