Politics
Texas Voters Want Marijuana Laws To Be Made ‘Less Strict,’ New Poll Finds
A plurality of Texas voters want the state’s marijuana laws to be made “less strict,” according to a new poll. And among the legislative items lawmakers considered during recent special sessions, voters say a proposal to address hemp regulations was among the least important.
Amid the contentious debate in the legislature over Texas hemp policy, the University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll found that the biggest share of registered voters (48 percent) say the state should loosen its cannabis laws.
Another 16 percent said the laws should stay the same, while 22 percent said they should be “more strict.”
Support for lessening cannabis restrictions increased by five percentage points since the poll question was last administered in April, and support for increasing restrictions fell eight percentage points.
In this latest round, Democrats were most likely to back loosening cannabis rules, at 62 percent. That was followed by independents (61 percent) and Republicans (35 percent).
Asked to rank how important or unimportant they viewed various legislative items that were taken up by the legislature during recent special sessions, only 14 percent of respondents said it was “extremely important”—the lowest of all nine issues that also included dealing with flooding in central Texas, reducing property taxes, revising the state’s congressional district map and more.
Thirty-three percent said the hemp issue was “not very important” or “not important,” which is the second highest percentage of voters who felt that way about the issues at hand.
The survey involved interviews with 1,200 registered voters in Texas from August 22-September 1, with a +/-2.83 percentage point margin of error.
The findings come as Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed an executive order to create age limits and labeling requirements for hemp products containing THC after the legislature failed to reach an agreement on a proposed outright ban that was steadfastly opposed by the industry and advocates.
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Meanwhile, Texas officials have taken another step toward implementing a law to significantly expand the state’s medical marijuana program—proposing rules to to let physicians recommend new qualifying conditions for cannabis and to create standards for allowable inhalation devices in line with legislation enacted by lawmakers and the governor earlier this year.
Abbott vetoed an earlier version of the controversial proposal that passed during this year’s regular session.
During the first special session, Rep. Nicole Collier (D) introduced a one-page bill, HB 42, designed to protect consumers in the state from criminal charges if what they believed was a legal hemp product turned out to contain excessive amounts of THC, making it illegal marijuana. It would prevent the criminalization of someone found in possession of a product that’s labeled as hemp but is determined to contain “a controlled substance or marihuana.”
In order for the person to obtain the legal protection, the product would need to have been purchased “from a retailer the person reasonably believed was authorized to sell a consumable hemp product.”
Another bill—HB 195, introduced by Rep. Jessica González (D)—would legalize marijuana for people 21 and older, allowing possession of up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis, with no more than 15 grams of that amount being in concentrated form.
Yet another proposal would order state officials to conduct a study on testing for THC intoxication.
Separately, about a month after the state Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) circulated the draft rules at a meeting, they have now been formally published in the Texas Register—kicking off a 31-day public comment period before they’re potentially finalized.
Last month, the Department of Public Safety (DPS) separately posted a set of additional rules in the Register to increase the number of licensed medical marijuana dispensaries in Texas under the recently enacted legislation.
DPS will ultimately be issuing 12 new licenses for dispensaries across the state. Currently there are only three. The additional licensees will go through a competitive process, with officials prioritizing Texas’s public health regions to optimize access.
Image element courtesy of AnonMoos.
