Will marijuana be legalized in Austin

1. Will Marijuana Be Legalized in Austin, Texas? In Travis County, low-level possession offenders (carrying less than two ounces) can now take a four-hour class instead of going through the court system. According to Assistant County Attorney Dan Hambre, this measure helps to unclog the judicial system here in Austin and helps low-level offenders avoid a criminal record following them for the rest of their lives. In fact, the majority of marijuana cases are minor possession cases. Harris County and Bexar County (in Houston and San Antonio, respectively) also have programs to keep low-level offenders out of the system, but that same low-level first offense can be punished with up to 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine in most of the state. According to the 2017 Texas Department of Public Safety crime report, 62,057 adults and 4,662 juveniles were arrested on marijuana-related charges. Just under 94% of those arrests were for possession. That’s a lot of people and a lot of additional hours on the clock. Back in 2015, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) signed in a program for medicinal marijuana, but only with low levels of THC (the compound makes users feel ‘high’) and only for serious cases of intractable epilepsy. Abbott has talked some about reducing penalties, citing that what he “[doesn’t] want to see is jails stockpiled with people who have possession of small amounts of marijuana.” Although the concern is from a place of public resources, it has some marijuana legalization advocates hopeful. The 2019 Texas Legislative session began last month, with the two principal marijuana- related policies being total decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana and a broader legalization of marijuana for medical use. Only time will tell what the rest of the session brings. Thank you for visiting the Gabriella Young blog, an Austin Criminal Defense Lawyer. We write to inform locals about law changes, events and news.