A bill to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of cannabis has gained the approval of the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee in the Texas House of Representatives.
With a 5-2 vote on Monday, the committee approved HB63, a bill that would replace penalties for the possession of anything under an ounce with a maximum $250 fine for the first two offenses.
Any subsequent offenses would be considered a Class C misdemeanor which is punishable only by a $500 fine and does not come with jail time or go on a person’s criminal record.
Under current law, possession or two ounces of cannabis or less is classified as a Class B misdemeanor and comes with a $2,000 fine and a six-month county jail sentence.
“In 2016, our state arrested more than 66,000 for the simple possession of marijuana, a substance we know to be objectively safer that (sic) alcohol, tobacco, and many pharmaceutical drugs patients are prescribed every day,” writes Texas NORML in an online petition. “Reducing penalties for low-level marijuana possession will free up valuable criminal justice resources by eliminating the arrest, jail time, and collateral consequences currently associated with even small amounts of marijuana.”
HB63 was filed by Joseph Moody [D] on November 11, 2018, and has bipartisan sponsorship.
Now that the bill has gained the committee’s approval, it will head to a separate panel to be scheduled for a floor debate.
