This past week has been quite an interesting one for both Susan Hays and Sid Miller, the two major candidates looking to fill the next 4 years of the Texas Ag Commissioner role.
Sid Miller penned an opinion letter about hemp and expanding the medical cannabis program in Texas, shortly after Susan Hays gave a speech on the topic.
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Hays gave a speech to a filled Democrat Cannabis Caucus with standing room only according to attendee, activist, and fellow speaker Retired Army Officer David Bass. Hays’ speech was not long, but was straight to the points she intended to make.
One of which is that she sees the current office as corrupted.
“I decided to run for this seat because Sid Miller has been so corrupt with the hemp program,” Hays told the audience.
Hays states that Sid’s office has tried to scam people for the licenses. That the agricultural office was charging what she as an attorney sees as illegal fees for lot permits and transport manifests. She notes that it was purposely written in to the original bill by herself and Senator Perry’s office that the only fees allowed are the $100 licensing fee and the $100 facility fee.
Susan continues noting that the real problem with changing the cannabis law comes with getting Lt. Governor Dan Patrick out of office. That another key component would be getting Beto into office so that a broad cannabis bill does not get vetoed.
Hays by trade is an attorney operating in the cannabis space and has been deemed a super lawyer by her peers for over a decade for her work. Outside of that, Susan is a rancher from Alpine which is located just a little over 70 miles north of the entrance to Big Bend National Park.
Hays states on her campaign website that she grew up in rural Texas in the middle of ranching and hunting country. But like many of her generation she left for the city to get an education and make a living. Her law practice took her to advising cannabis producers and businesses, and pushing Texas to open the door to this high-value crop with the hemp program. Hays is also credited with helping to craft HB 1325 which relegalized hemp in the state of Texas. As well, Hays was an attorney involved in the Texas Smokable Hemp Ban lawsuit.
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“Apply my expertise in cannabis policy and law so that Texas adopts the best law in the country for both the farmers and people getting into business, and for consumers who want access to good safe reliable cannabis product from gummies to flower on down.”
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The excerpt video of Hays speech is embedded below
Good reporting! – All this is encouraging, but reminds me that back in the last mid-term elections, politicians knew most voters supported marijuana reform. So, Texas Republicans made legalizing medical marijuana a part of their party platform. In response, Texas Democrats changed their platform from including medical marijuana to legalizing ALL adult consumption. 8^)
The sad thing, of course, is that, somehow, when the election was over, all that interest in reform faded away, at least in the Republican party.
So much corrupt resistance! — Let’s get Beto and the Democrats in and fix this quick.