Texas cancer patients and people with PTSD will soon be able to join state’s expanded medical marijuana program
A new law going into effect Sept. 1 will also increase the cap of THC in medical marijuana to 1%. Full Story
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![David Bass at his home in Killeen on Aug. 8, 2021. “In the next year, we hope that more municipalities decide to stop wasting police resources on arresting people for small amounts of cannabis.”]()
Credit: Cindy Elizabeth for The Texas Tribune -
Watered-down expansion of Texas’ medical marijuana program signed into law
House Bill 1535 expands eligibility for the Texas Compassionate Use Program to people with cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder. It's effective Sept. 1. Full Story
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![Newly planted marijuana plants at Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation Medical Marijuana facility in South Austin on April 30, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
A bill to expand Texas’ medical marijuana program started moving in the Senate. Advocates worry time is running out.
House Bill 1535 would expand the state’s medical cannabis program to include those with chronic pain, all cancer patients and Texans with post-traumatic stress disorder. Full Story
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![Mature marijuana plants at Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation Medical Marijuana facility in South Austin on April 30, 2021.]()
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Analysis: Judge legislators by what gets their attention — and their neglect
As the Texas Legislature rolls into its final two weeks, it's fair to credit members with what they've done. But pay attention to what they ignored. Full Story
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The criminal penalty for possessing small amounts of marijuana would be reduced under a bill passed by the Texas House
The measure likely faces an uphill climb in the Senate, where two years ago Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick opposed similar legislation. Full Story
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Texas voters' views shifting on abortion, pot, gambling and Confederate monuments, poll finds
According to the latest UT/TT Poll, most Texas voters support expanded gambling and would legalize marijuana. Half would leave Confederate statues and monuments where they are. And they're divided on whether to change state abortion laws or leave them as is. Full Story
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![A container of dried hemp plant with leaves and stems on Jan. 23, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: In a recession, turning to sin might save the Texas budget
The pandemic-induced recession punched a hole in the Texas budget that lawmakers will try to patch when their session starts in January. And a hole in the state's finances almost always starts a conversation about how to raise money. This time, marijuana and casinos are in the spotlight. Full Story
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![Dried hemp plant with leaves and stems on Jan. 23, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
In economic crisis, Texas Democrats push to legalize marijuana. Key Republicans likely stand in the way.
State lawmakers argue that the tax revenue and jobs created by a retail market for cannabis could help the state devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. Full Story
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![Marijuana plants at Compassionate Cultivation, a home-grown medical cannabis company in Austin that serves patients throughout Texas. Jan. 19, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Austin police will no longer cite or arrest people for possessing small amounts of marijuana
The police chief announced the policy change Thursday, more than a year after the Texas Legislature legalized hemp and complicated marijuana prosecution throughout the state. Full Story
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![An Austin police officer pulls over a vehicle on August 28, 2017.]()
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Texas state crime labs won’t test suspected marijuana in low-level cases
The Texas Department of Public Safety said last week that it would not perform testing to distinguish between hemp and marijuana in misdemeanor cases. Full Story
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![A container of dried hemp plant with leaves and stems on Jan. 23, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Hemp is booming in Texas. Distinguishing it from marijuana is still a challenge.
In this video, The Texas Tribune dug into hemp and marijuana with lawmakers, crime lab scientists, criminal defense attorneys and hemp entrepreneurs. Full Story
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![A container of dried hemp plant with leaves and stems on Jan. 23, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
CBD, hemp, medical marijuana? Here's what you need to know about Texas' changing pot laws.
Marijuana and hemp are often indistinguishable by look or smell because they both come from the cannabis plant. But hemp is legal, and marijuana is not. Full Story
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![The Custom Botanical Dispensary in Austin on Jan. 16, 2019.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Austin police chief: We will still ticket, arrest for marijuana
The day after the Austin City Council unanimously approved stopping arrests and tickets for low-level marijuana cases, police Chief Brian Manley said he will continue to enforce such laws. Full Story
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![Austin Police Chief Brian Manley speaks during a news conference near the scene where a woman was injured in a package bomb explosion, in Austin on March 12, 2018.]()
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Austin police will stop arrests, tickets in most low-level marijuana cases after unanimous City Council vote
The decision to back away from pursuing criminal charges against people with small amounts of pot comes after state lawmakers legalized hemp last year in a way that threw marijuana prosecution into chaos. Full Story
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CBD products are everywhere in Texas since the state legalized hemp. Experts warn: buyer beware.
Much of the sudden spike in popularity is thanks to a Texas law last year that legalized hemp, the plant from which CBD is derived. Full Story
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![The Custom Botanical Dispensary in Austin, Texas on Jan. 16, 2019.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Refugee ban, hemp fiasco and another Planned Parenthood fight
On this week’s TribCast, Alexa talks to Matthew, Jolie and Emma about the governor’s decision to opt out of the federal refugee resettlement program, the state’s hemp legalization fiasco and the latest in the Texas vs. Planned Parenthood fight. Full Story
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![The Almohammad family, a refugee family from Syria, arrive at Austin–Bergstrom International Airport late at night on Monday, Feb. 6, 2017.]()
Credit: Erika Rich for The Texas Tribune -
Austin to consider stopping arrests, tickets in low-level marijuana cases after hemp law
Four progressive members of the City Council are pushing the proposal, which needs two more votes to pass. Full Story
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He spent a month in Texas jail accused of hauling 3,350 pounds of marijuana. But lab results say it was legal hemp.
The man had told a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper that his truck contained hemp, not weed. He was released from detention after a federal crime lab tested the cargo. Full Story
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![The Texas Department of Public Safety claimed last month that it seized more than 3,000 pounds of marijuana during a traffic stop in Carson County. Lab results indicate the load was legal hemp.]()
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Marijuana prosecutions in Texas have dropped by more than half since lawmakers legalized hemp
After Texas legalized hemp and threw marijuana prosecution into chaos last year, prosecutors filed far fewer criminal charges, police departments paid for private testing and public crime labs were struggling to catch up. Full Story
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O'Rourke's plan to legalize marijuana includes clemency for possession sentences and grants for those who already served time
For his latest policy proposal, the Democratic presidential candidate returns to a cause he has championed since his days on the El Paso City Council. Full Story
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![Beto O'Rourke speaks at Texas Southern University in Houston during his Presidential Campaign kick off on March 30, 2019.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune
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