Opinion

Bhalesha, Jones: 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.

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.