Pubdate: Fri, 25 Oct 2013
Source: Houston Chronicle (TX)
Copyright: 2013 Houston Chronicle Publishing Company Division, Hearst Newspaper
Contact:  http://www.chron.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/198
Authors: Rehman Bhalesha and Nathan Jones
Note: Bhalesha is a student at the South Texas College of Law and Jones is
the Alfred C. Glassell III Postdoctoral Fellow in Drug Policy at Rice
University's Baker Institute for Public Policy.

IT'S TIME FOR TEXAS TO SUPPORT LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA

Regulation of Drug Can Help Reduce Its Abuse by Teenagers

A majority of Texans are ready to join the growing number of states 
that are modernizing marijuana laws. A recent poll from Public Policy 
Polling showing 58 percent of Texans support marijuana legalization 
demonstrates the Texan attitude of disfavoring the 
government-expanding criminalization of marijuana and preferring 
free-enterprise solutions.

The Texas public's level of support for marijuana legalization is 
actually higher than the national average. Pew and Gallup polls have 
both demonstrated in the past year that a majority of Americans now 
support marijuana legalization. Marijuana legalization is now a 
mainstream policy option. Colorado and Washington have already 
legalized marijuana and the federal government has largely allowed 
them to do so provided they work to keep it out of the hands of 
minors and organized crime.

Twenty states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana 
for medical purposes. With levels of support for marijuana 
legalization outpacing the national average, the question is not if 
marijuana will be legalized in Texas but when Texas leaders will 
implement the will of the Texas people.

Such a pro-legalization sentiment could compel the historically 
business-friendly Texas Legislature to regulate marijuana, which will 
support free enterprise, reduce costs for law enforcement, justice 
and corrections and better prevent underage marijuana use.

A move by the Legislature to legalize marijuana would fit well within 
the pattern of marijuana reform exhibited by the Legislature within 
the past 24 years, as seen by legislative actions making marijuana a 
taxable substance and offering options to reduce procedural penalties 
of marijuana possession.

Furthermore, because the Legislature has successfully acted to 
regulate tobacco and reduce underage use, a legislative move to 
regulate marijuana may also help reduce adolescent marijuana use. 
According to a report to the Legislature, from 1998 to 2001 current 
youth tobacco use declined by 36 percent.

Rather than completely formulating new marijuana laws, legislators 
need only expand existing Texas laws to legalize marijuana, since the 
legislative precursors to regulating marijuana in a manner similar to 
tobacco have already been set.

In spite of the harsh criminal penalties associated with marijuana 
possession, a study by the American Journal of Public Health has 
found no evidence to support the belief that the criminalization of 
marijuana actually reduces marijuana usage. The problem of marijuana 
remaining the most popular illicit drug of abuse among teenagers 
despite decades of enforcing a criminalization policy cannot be 
solved by continuing the failed policy of marijuana prohibition.

Even though cigarette use is legal, the long-term trend of teenage 
cigarette use has been dropping dramatically, most likely because of 
strong regulation and increased education. The long-term trend for 
teenage marijuana use, on the other hand, has been increasing significantly.

If the Legislature wishes to limit adolescent use of marijuana and 
thereby prevent possible addictions or health detriments associated 
with marijuana, it would be wise to regulate the substance, which 
would take it away from outlaw dealers and put it into the hands of 
responsible vendors. The Legislature could expand tobacco regulations 
to include marijuana, better ensuring that children and teenagers are 
successfully discouraged from using the product.

When the next legislative session convenes in 2015, Texas lawmakers 
must update the state's marijuana policies by legalizing and taxing 
the product. By legalizing marijuana, legislators will be able to 
shrink the size and scope of government by lessening the burden on 
the criminal justice system, reducing law enforcement costs and 
weakening organized crime. Legislators also will create an industry 
that benefits new businesses and generates revenues for the state.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom