Talk about a buzzkill.
Supporters of medical marijuana, who had high hopes that Texas would be the latest state to allow the use, are seeing their chances dashed this session.
State Senator Jose Menendez (D-San Antonio), who authored the legislation to allow for the medicinal use of weed, now says it's dead in the water.
"The chairman of the Public Health committee in the Senate doesn’t want to give that bill a hearing. He says Texas is not ready for it," he tells Newsradio 1200 WOAI.
Without a hearing, the bill will die in committee.
Other medical marijuana bills remain pending.
Menendez disagrees with the chairman’s sentiment. Polls, he says, show Texans support medical marijuana.
"People are getting opioids and dying every day of opioid abuse," he explains. "There's no recorded death of cannabis abuse in the nation."
Meanwhile, several bills that would decriminalize small amounts of marijuana continue to gain steam. One would impose a simple $250 fine for possession of up to an ounce of marijuana. It's supported by the Marijuana Policy Project.
"Most Americans now support legalization of cannabis for adults 21 and over, and many states no longer force taxpayers to pay for the costs of failed prohibition policies, including arrest, possible jail time, suspension of driver’s licenses, and harmful criminal convictions," the group writes.
The house bill is on a tight deadline. It needs to get out of the House by Thursday, or it will be dead this session.
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