Texas may become one in every of successive places within the U.S. to enact a comprehensive medical marijuana program, if the state political party has its manner.
On Friday, delegates at the 2016 Lone-Star State political party Convention voted to feature a medical cannabis provision to the party platform.
“We decision upon the Lone-Star State legislative assembly to boost the 2015 Compassionate Use Act to permit doctors to work out the suitable use of cannabis to prescribed patients,” the plank reads, concerning the necessity to broaden the state’s existing law permitting sure patients with severe brain disease to use marijuana extracts that square measure made in cannabidiol (CBD) and low in THC (THC).
According to Heath Fazio, Lone-Star State political director for the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), the live was approved by seventy eight of delegates choice at the convention.
“Marijuana law reform isn’t a partisan issue,” she wrote in associate degree email. “Texans of all political persuasions acknowledge that cannabis is drugs and support the reform of obsolete policies. This move by Republican delegates affirms the integrity of the doctor/patient relationship by declaring that patients ought to have safe and legal access to medical cannabis if their doctors advocate it.”
But don’t mistake the Lone-Star State political party for a bunch of legalizers. Another platform plank noticed by the metropolis Current reads, “We oppose group action of illicit and artificial medication. we have a tendency to additionally oppose any needle exchange programs. religion primarily based programs ought to be thought-about as a neighborhood of associate degree overall rehabilitation program.”
A section on welfare reform says, “Recipients ought to be needed to suffer random drug testing so as to receive edges.”
The Lone-Star State political party, on the opposite hand, supports legalizing and control marijuana, and not only for medical use.
“Texas Democrats urges the President, the lawyer General, Congress moreover because the Lone-Star State legislative assembly, to support the passage of legislation to decriminalise the possession of marijuana and regulate its use, production, and sale as is completed with tobacco and alcohol,” reads the platform the party adopted in 2014.
“Colorado and Washington have with success enforced laws to wrongfully possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana and regulate its use and sale and onerous of marijuana,” the Lone-Star State Dems denote. “The Governor in his take into account Colorado comes 134 million greenbacks in revenue within the current twelvemonth. we have a tendency to urge the immediate legislating of possession and use of medical marijuana. we have a tendency to support the Lone-Star State legislative assembly to check the laws and systems in Colorado and Washington as a primary step in implementing an analogous system in Lone-Star State.”
Even though the state political party isn’t on board with full group action, its support for medical cannabis may add important momentum to push associate degree growth bill across the line in associate degree approaching session. The party holds important majorities within the the state House and Senate, and Gov. Greg Abbott could be a Republican.
Photo Courtesy of Lukasz Stefanski.
