Alamo Drafthouse Slaughter Lane
The Bigger Story on Pot
RECEIVED Tue., Jan. 10, 2006
Dear Editor,
It's true medical marijuana didn't get out of committee in the Texas Lege [“The Chronic Goes On,” News, Jan. 6], but a bigger story, IMO, was that the same committee (House Criminal Jurisprudence) approved HB 254 unanimously, with Republicans Mary Denny, Terry Keel, and Debbie Riddle voting for it along with former drug task force commander Democrat Juan Escobar. That bill would have reduced the penalties for low-level marijuana possession from a class B to a class C misdemeanor – meaning a traffic ticket-like fine and a drug education class comparable to what's currently required in Austin for paraphernalia charges.
Speaker Tom Craddick and the Calendars Committee didn't let the bill get a vote on the House floor, but it cleared committee mostly for financial reasons: with class B's, counties must pay incarceration and indigent defense costs, while class C's generate fines and revenue, with fewer associated expenses. With county jails like Travis' and most others completely full, that legislation should still have legs in future sessions.
It's true medical marijuana didn't get out of committee in the Texas Lege [“The Chronic Goes On,” News, Jan. 6], but a bigger story, IMO, was that the same committee (House Criminal Jurisprudence) approved HB 254 unanimously, with Republicans Mary Denny, Terry Keel, and Debbie Riddle voting for it along with former drug task force commander Democrat Juan Escobar. That bill would have reduced the penalties for low-level marijuana possession from a class B to a class C misdemeanor – meaning a traffic ticket-like fine and a drug education class comparable to what's currently required in Austin for paraphernalia charges.
Speaker Tom Craddick and the Calendars Committee didn't let the bill get a vote on the House floor, but it cleared committee mostly for financial reasons: with class B's, counties must pay incarceration and indigent defense costs, while class C's generate fines and revenue, with fewer associated expenses. With county jails like Travis' and most others completely full, that legislation should still have legs in future sessions.
Scott Henson
