Texas Voters Want Marijuana Laws To Be Made ‘Less Strict,’ New Poll Finds

A plurality of Texas voters want the state’s marijuana laws to be made
“less strict,” according to a new poll. And among the legislative items
lawmakers considered during recent special sessions, voters say a proposal
to address hemp regulations was among the least important.

Amid the contentious debate in the legislature over Texas hemp policy, the
University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll found that the biggest
share of registered voters (48 percent) say the state should loosen its
cannabis laws.

Another 16 percent said the laws should stay the same, while 22 percent
said they should be “more strict.”

Support for lessening cannabis restrictions increased by five percentage
points since the poll question was last administered in April, and support
for increasing restrictions fell eight percentage points.

In this latest round, Democrats were most likely to back loosening cannabis
rules, at 62 percent. That was followed by independents (61 percent) and
Republicans (35 percent).

Asked to rank how important or unimportant they viewed various legislative
items that were taken up by the legislature during recent special sessions,
only 14 percent of respondents said it was “extremely important”—the lowest
of all nine issues that also included dealing with flooding in central
Texas, reducing property taxes, revising the state’s congressional district
map and more.

Thirty-three percent said the hemp issue was “not very important” or “not
important,” which is the second highest percentage of voters who felt that
way about the issues at hand.

The survey involved interviews with 1,200 registered voters in Texas from
August 22-September 1, with a +/-2.83 percentage point margin of error.

The findings come as Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed an executive order to create
age limits and labeling requirements for hemp products containing THC after
the legislature failed to reach an agreement on a proposed outright ban
that was steadfastly opposed by the industry and advocates.


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Meanwhile, Texas officials have taken another step toward implementing a
law to significantly expand the state’s medical marijuana program—proposing
rules to to let physicians recommend new qualifying conditions for cannabis
and to create standards for allowable inhalation devices in line with
legislation enacted by lawmakers and the governor earlier this year.

Abbott vetoed an earlier version of the controversial proposal that passed
during this year’s regular session.

During the first special session, Rep. Nicole Collier (D) introduced a
one-page bill, HB 42, designed to protect consumers in the state from
criminal charges if what they believed was a legal hemp product turned out
to contain excessive amounts of THC, making it illegal marijuana. It would
prevent the criminalization of someone found in possession of a product
that’s labeled as hemp but is determined to contain “a controlled substance
or marihuana.”

In order for the person to obtain the legal protection, the product would
need to have been purchased “from a retailer the person reasonably believed
was authorized to sell a consumable hemp product.”

Another bill—HB 195, introduced by Rep. Jessica González (D)—would legalize
marijuana for people 21 and older, allowing possession of up to 2.5 ounces
of cannabis, with no more than 15 grams of that amount being in
concentrated form.

Yet another proposal would order state officials to conduct a study on
testing for THC intoxication.

Separately, about a month after the state Health and Human Services
Commission (HHSC) circulated the draft rules at a meeting, they have now
been formally published in the Texas Register—kicking off a 31-day public
comment period before they’re potentially finalized.

Last month, the Department of Public Safety (DPS) separately posted a set
of additional rules in the Register to increase the number of licensed
medical marijuana dispensaries in Texas under the recently enacted
legislation.

DPS will ultimately be issuing 12 new licenses for dispensaries across the
state. Currently there are only three. The additional licensees will go
through a competitive process, with officials prioritizing Texas’s public
health regions to optimize access.

*Image element courtesy of AnonMoos.*

The post Texas Voters Want Marijuana Laws To Be Made ‘Less Strict,’ New
Poll Finds appeared first on Marijuana Moment.