Las Vegas just gave the green light to marijuana bars.
Meanwhile, Texans are fighting “tooth and nail” to have the powers that be reduce penalties on possession of amounts up to 1 ounce, to a Class C misdemeanor, and ending the collateral consequences that come with a conviction for possessing the beloved plant.
People have said for a lifetime (at least my 33 year lifetime) that Texas will be the last to legalize cannabis. Why is that? Is that because of the ones that we choose to elect? Or is it because Texans have been silenced when it comes to policy reform because there is no voter initiative and referendum process? Or both?
I say both.
In 1914, Texans voted down a constitutional amendment that would have established the initiative and referendum process. This defeat of the “Texas Initiative and Referendum” proposition has silenced Texas voters for generations to come. That’s a major problem. If Texans had a initiative and referendum process, Texas would have most likely become a legal, recreational state years ago as a majority of Texans support legal cannabis.
Another thing standing in the way of Texas reforming it’s outdated laws surrounding cannabis are, well, those that we elect and put into positions of power.
The people we elect are supposed to represent us, their constituents, not their beliefs. This has become an issue, especially with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick voicing that House Bill 63 is “dead” recently.
The Texas GOP, the party Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick belongs to, adopted Plank 107 which supports a reduction of penalties to a civil fine of $100 for possession of 1 ounce of marijuana or less – which is also a move supported by a majority of Texans.
This isn’t representation. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is grossly going against his own party’s platform and the will of Texans. This isn’t about what he agrees or disagrees with, what he likes or doesn’t like. He is supposed represent those who put him in office, and honestly, isn’t doing that well of a job if he can’t follow the party platform or what his constituents ask. This is about us, about Texans.
I’ve seen a lot of people, even those who have voted straight ticket Republican, angry with the way Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is handling his position when it comes to things such as House Bill 63 – and with good reason.
Do you think Abbott’s signing of a law removing straight ticket voting will have any effect on rouge representatives such as Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick? It could. I know at least a handful of people who won’t be punching his name on the ballot in 2022 since they will have to individually press his name now with no straight ticket voting.
Until then, we must continue to fight as we have, with facts and truth, and we must continue electing people who will represent us while removing those who don’t.
We need to develop the courage to challenge the expertise and the supposed morals of those who portend to know “the way forward”. The direct benefits of legalizing pot will be huge but it will bring an unveiling of our great failure as supposedly intelligent beings, of allowing ourselves to be trapped in a vicious web of lies, led by fools, profiteers and moralists who pulled off an enormous scam on each of us, on the whole world for a hundred years. Shame on all of us for allowing this fairy tale to stand for so long, as justice and reality.
The big problem with not voting Republican, is fear of what the Democrats would do to taxes if they were in a majority. So far we have avoided a state income tax. Much as I’d love to see Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick out on his butt, the alternative may come at too steep a cost. There is also a lot of PC BS that the liberals push, that the majority of Texans don’t agree with. Much as I’d love some progress on the Marijuana front, that is again too high of a price.