The Texas House of Representatives gave initial approval to a bill to decriminalize marijuana in the state on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, a committee heard testimony on separate legislation to more broadly legalize and regulate cannabis sales.
The chamber passed the legislation from Rep. Joe Moody (D) on second reading in a voice vote, setting it up for final passage in the chamber.
“I’m very proud to bring you a bill that will lower taxes, improve economic opportunities for Texans and strengthen the ability of law enforcement to respond to serious crimes,” Moody said on the floor. “House Bill 218 does that by changing the way we enforce laws around the personal use possession of cannabis.”
“Possessing a small amount of cannabis is still illegal. We’re just addressing it in a smarter way than we do now,” he said. “What this will do is free up hundreds of millions of dollars that currently go into enforcement, keep police on the street working more serious cases instead of processing these petty arrests and make sure those who would currently end up with a record that interferes with jobs, school, housing and licensure come out of the process without any permanent
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