With the whirlwind of attention that the many cannabis decriminalization and medical legalizations bills filed in the 2019 Texas Legislature have been receiving from both sides of the political aisle, cannabis reform may become a possibility in The Lone Star State. Veterans who wish to cannabis as an alternative to a laundry list of potentially dangerous pharmaceuticals from the VA may do so legally and a single low-level possession charge of up to an ounce won’t ruin anyone’s future prospects.
However, if Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick has his way and vetoes according to his lengthy voting record and countless previous statements, all those realities of somewhat legal cannabis in Texas could go up in smoke.
While his boss, Gov. Greg Abbott, mentioned in the 2018 gubernatorial debate that he’d be open to both decriminalization and expansion of medicinal cannabis after hearing the stories of veterans and children who’ve received tremendous medical relief from the long prohibited plant, Patrick has offered no such viewpoints. In a statement to The Texas Tribune, a spokesperson for Lt. Gov. Patrick said that the former radio broadcaster is “strongly opposed to weakening any laws against marijuana [and] remains wary of the various medicinal use proposals that could become a vehicle for expanding access to this drug. (1)”
Even if one were to completely disregard that statement, simple research into his voting record during his eight years in the Texas Senate would show that his incredibly opposing viewpoints on drug-related safety and criminal reformations aren’t even close to a surprise.
For starters, then-state senator Patrick co-sponsored the eventually passed Senate Bill 21 in 2013, which required drug testing for unemployment benefits. And although the ever present socio-economic dangers of opiate addiction have been a problem for quite some time, Patrick voted against two different bills, in 2007 and 2009 respectively, which would’ve authorized safe needle exchange locations for intravenous drug users to curtail the spread of bloodborne diseases from used needles.
Furthermore on his opposition to state-sponsored drug rehabilitation and safety precautions, Patrick voted against CSSB 1909, a bill which would’ve allowed judges to send drug offenders to a “community supervision program” as opposed to jail immediately. As for bills which he actually voted in favor of, Patrick voted very much in favor during the 2009 Legislative Session for Senate Bill 298, which would’ve authorized more sobriety checkpoints throughout Texas as well as the tobacco age restriction-increasing SB 1049.
Even in a perfect yet highly unlikely near future where every single one of the over fifty cannabis-related bills in the 2019 Legislative Session miraculously passed in both houses, Lt. Governor Patrick’s veto power could end up reigning supreme and dashing any hopes of cannabis reform in Texas.
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