With Covid-19 blowing a $4.6 billion hole in the state’s budget, Democratic lawmakers in Texas are hoping to legalize and subsequently tax recreational marijuana use. However, with the state’s Governor and Republican-controlled Senate pushing back, Texans are not holding their breath about this possible scenario becoming a reality anytime in the near future. A majority of residents in the Lone Star State want to end prohibition and legalize marijuana in Texas. Will it happen in 2021?
Two-thirds of Americans are now in favor of marijuana legalization, according to a Pew Research Center survey last year. The numbers are smaller in a state where everything is supposed to be bigger, but those in favor of legalizing marijuana in Texas have a small majority, as indicated in a poll taken by the University of Texas/Texas Tribune. In fact, in a 2019 poll, 54 percent of Texans were in favor of legalized recreational marijuana.
But some lawmakers in the state feel they know better than their constituents.
Follow The Money…
If legalization gets the green light, it would effectively raise taxes for all Texas cannabis consumers. This would be a suitable tradeoff for most individuals currently using marijuana recreationally or for medical purposes.
Texas state Rep. Joe Moody stated recently that legalization could potentially “add hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, if not billions.”
“As we see a number of states engaging around the country in a retail market, this is no longer an experiment.” He went on to say that it’s also “no secret that we are heading into some rough economic waters…Read More