Moody continues push for marijuana reform

AUSTIN — Texas state Rep. Joe Moody pushed a marijuana-decriminalization bill further than many expected in the legislative session that ended in June.

Now, in the face of shifting public opinion, the El Paso Democrat is redoubling efforts in advance of the session that starts in 2017. However, he’ll have to persuade Gov. Greg Abbott that’s a good idea.

Last session, Moody introduced a bill that would have removed criminal penalties for possession of an ounce or less of marijuana and replaced them with civil fines of up to $250. It drew the support of progressives, who have traditionally fought to ease penalties or even legalize marijuana.

But by citing the cost to taxpayers of marijuana enforcement, Moody was able to broaden his political coalition.

The 70,000 annual arrests in Texas for marijuana possession cost about $734 million, said Moody, a former prosecutor. And while police are kept busy with those busts, the great majority of burglaries and vehicle thefts in the Lone Star State have gone unsolved, Moody said, citing FBI crime statistics.

As with the rest of the country, public attitudes in Texas toward marijuana have been shifting.

Phillip Martin, deputy director of the liberal group Progress Texas, cited a 2013 poll by left-leaning Public Policy Polling indicating that 61 percent of Texans supported reducing criminal penalties for marijuana possession. A Texas Lyceum poll this month indicated that the percentage had grown to 74 percent, Martin said.

Zoe Russell, assistant executive director of the activist group Republicans Against Marijuana Prohibition, said the prospect of saving money and freeing up law enforcement is attractive to establishment Republicans and local prosecutors. Meanwhile, legalization appeals to the libertarian sentiments of the tea party.

“Those are the people who say to the government, ‘Leave me alone,’ ” she said.

In fact, one of the leading libertarians in the House, state Rep. David Simpson, R-Longview, introduced a bill last session that would have made marijuana legal, but it didn’t get far.

Moody’s decriminalization bill, on the other hand, was passed by the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee and it made it out of the Calendars Committee. The session ended before it could come to the House floor for a vote.

“I think we need to make it a major issue early on,” Moody said of the coming legislative session.

He’s working to do that already.

A few weeks ago, he spoke about decriminalization to a gathering of political consultants in Austin.

“They were very interested,” Moody said. “We got a lot of questions. There wasn’t an empty seat in the room.”

He said that among the advice he gave the consultants was: “If you have a client (a political candidate), no matter where they are on the issue, they’d better have an answer, because it’s not going away.”

Decriminalization also came up at a forum in Huntsville on the broader issue of criminal justice reform, Moody said. In Washington, D.C., and Austin, bipartisan sentiment has been building to reform decades of get-tough policies that have crowded jails and prisons with nonviolent offenders.

Moody’s also working to build a coalition for marijuana decriminalization in the House and he hopes he can find Republican support in the Senate, too.

Prospects there for at least one Republican ally seem bright because Simpson is seeking to succeed retiring state Sen. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler. Opposing Simpson is state Rep. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, who signed on as a sponsor to Moody’s decriminalization bill last session.

But Abbott remains a crucial hurdle.

Asked last week whether the first-term governor is inclined to support a decriminalization bill, his spokesman, John Wittman, said in an email, “Gov. Abbott supports current drug laws and opposes the legalization of marijuana.”

Wittman didn’t respond when asked if Abbott would support decriminalization — as opposed to legalization.

Russell, who has spoken with the governor about easing marijuana laws, sees wiggle room in that statement.

“I don’t have a total read on the governor,” she said. “But in their statements, they leave room.”

Moody noted that Abbott signed the “Compassionate Use” Act that allows cannabinoid oils for treatment of severe epilepsy.

“Why do you draw the line at that?” he asked.

Marty Schladen may be reached at 512-479-6606; mschladen@elpasotimes.com; @martyschladen on Twitter.



















