Repeal Criminal Possession Laws

Personally, I think it is long past time for Texas to be liberated from the long-failed "war on drugs". Hemp (and cannabis) is a way of growing our state. It's a way of making people free, growing jobs, and increasing our tax base without increasing tax rates.

I believe that individuals have the right to own and use anything - gold, guns, cannabis, sexually-explicit material - as long as they do no harm to others through force or the threat of force. Laws criminalizing the simple possession of anything are tailor-made for police-states; it is all too easy to plant a forbidden substance in someone's home, car, or pocket. Make no mistake: I am as tough on crime - REAL crime - as anyone. But criminal possession laws are an affront to liberty, whatever the rhetoric used to defend them.

Addressing the Long-Failed "War on Drugs"

Depending on whom you ask, an epidemic of substance abuse has been on a rising trajectory for quite some time. I believe that a necessary first step in reducing this trend is to reduce -- and eventually eliminate -- the practice of prosecution and imprisonment for non-violent drug crimes. By treating addiction as a health concern rather than as a criminal matter, we begin to address the root of the problem and reduce the growing rates of recidivism and crime.

I will promote drug education that is wholly rooted in facts (not conjecture) and established in combination with other recognized sensible policy programs.
I will work to establish overdose protection sites (OPS) and other low-threshold facilities that will ensure that the public has access to the resources necessary to combat addiction, and thereby circumvent the crime and other problems that arise from substance abuse.
I will work to lower the priority for law enforcement programs and initiatives focused on continuation of arrest or prosecution of non-violent drug related crimes. Individuals would instead be redirected to options for treatment, which may include the previously mentioned OPS programs.

Repeal Restrictions on Cultivation Laws

I believe it is also long-past time to legalize cannabis and hemp farming in Texas. We should have just as much of an opportunity to reap the economic rewards of these two policies as any other state in the U.S.

Legalization of cannabis at a recreational level is necessary, if for no other reason than we are wasting too much of the taxpayers’ money on prosecuting and housing non-violent drug offenders. Nearly half of the drug-related arrests across the U.S. stem from cannabis and, of that portion, almost 90% were due to simple-possession.
Growing, processing and distributing both cannabis and hemp should be not regulated any more than any other agricultural crops.
Funding and resources should be available to companies wanting to research and develop these crops.