Our Legislature OKs marijuana legalization; Cuomo has said he Ideas

"A guv's race that's high-profile like the one that is turning up, where it could be Beto O'Rourke versus Greg Abbott, that's the very best chance to press these populist wedge issues." But Joshua Blank, research director for the Texas Politics Project at UT-Austin, said cannabis legalization isn't a "terribly crucial issue" for voters by itself.

Supporters for legalization connect the problem to racial justice. In his 2011 book, O'Rourke linked the drug's prohibition in the early 20th century to racist worries of Mexican immigrants. Advocates today highlight the racial disparities in existing law's enforcement. Black Texans are 2. 6 times more likely than white Texans to be jailed for marijuana ownership, according to an April 2020 ACLU report.

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State Rep.  You Can Try This Source , D-El Paso, who functioned as political director on O'Rourke's 2018 project, said the tide is turning on policies connecting to cannabis enforcement. For example, House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, co-authored the 2019 bill that would have reduced charges for possession prior to Patrick killed it. "A Gov.

But eventually, to get something to the governor's desk, you've got to get it through the Senate," Moody said. "Our focus has to be on changing hearts and minds in the Senate." Moody would know something about changing opinions. Now one of the Legislature's greatest advocates of reducing penalties for marjiuana charges, he said he disagreed with O'Rourke's position on cannabis a decade back.

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But he stated he's considering that grown "much more comfy" with the concept that legalization is "a major piece of the puzzle." O'Rourke was "ahead of the curve" on marijuana legalization, Moody said, a quality he included the public ought to look for from their leaders. For Moody, El Paso which became the very first U.S.

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"If you're going to right the wrong, if you believe this is a scourge on our system, and it started here, then let's let it end here. Let's blaze a trail to end it," Moody stated. "That definitely is something that weighs heavily on my mind and on my shoulders when I deal with this policy, and I imagine it's the very same for [O'Rourke]" Disclosure: The University of Texas at Austin has been a financial advocate of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan wire service that is moneyed in part by contributions from members, structures and business sponsors.

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