Name: Texas House Speaker Says Legalizing Marijuana ‘Could Be A Help’ To Budget Woes, But He’d Vote Against It
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Texas House Speaker Says Legalizing Marijuana ‘Could Be A Help’ To Budget Woes, But He’d Vote Against It

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Texas’s top lawmaker says that legalizing marijuana could be part of the solution to the state’s budget shortfall, but he doesn’t support it.“It certainly could be a help. It could augment the shortfall,” Speaker Dennis Bonnen (R) said. “But I don’t believe it’s anywhere near a singular solution.”The speaker added that he would vote against legalization, arguing that it “creates other financial costs outside of the benefit of the tax income.”And besides, he said in an interview with Spectrum News Austin, the revenue to be derived from ending cannabis prohibition and taxing sales would not on its own address the state’s fiscal problems.“The state budget in Texas is so large, there is no singular solution to a budget challenge,” Bonnen . “So legalization of marijuana is something that should be considered next session by those who want to bring that forward, but it probably doesn’t produce a solution to the budget challenge that we’ll be facing.”Watch the speaker’s marijuana comments, about 5:10 into the video below:Legalization advocates see positive signs in the Bonnen’s comments despite his continuing opposition to the policy change.“Even lawmakers who have traditionally opposed legalization are taking a more serious look at the financial benefits of doing so,” Heather Fazio, director of Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy, told Marijuana Moment. “Our state is facing a budget crisis and it would serve us well to repeal marijuana prohibition, a change that would preserve valuable criminal justice resources and could bring in as much as $1 billion in estimated tax revenue.”In 2018, The , expanding the state’s current limited medical cannabis law, legalizing hemp and federally rescheduling marijuana.Technical snags at this month’s virtual 2020 convention prevented delegates from being able to finalize an updated platform.Bonnen’s House of Representatives , but it later .Speaker Bonnen discusses the toll of coronavirus on the state budget…and his thoughts on the legalization of marijuana as a revenue source.— Speaker Dennis Bonnen (@RepDennisBonnen)Meanwhile, the state’s legalization of hemp has due to law enforcement’s difficulty distinguishing the newly legal crop from its still-illicit cannabis cousin. In the six months following Texas’s hemp law taking effect, .This month, the Austin Police Department issued a memo and citations, consistent with a measure the City Council approved in January.In May, the El Paso City Council approved a .It remains to be seen what kind of cannabis reforms state lawmakers will consider when the new session begins in January. Bonnen is not seeking reelection this year, however, and so the prospects for marijuana legislation in the chamber will be largely up to a new speaker.Photo courtesy of .Marijuana Moment is made possible with support from readers. If you rely on our cannabis advocacy journalism to stay informed, please consider a monthly Patreon pledge.

Texas’s top lawmaker says that legalizing marijuana could be part of the solution to the state’s budget shortfall, but he doesn’t support it.“It certainly could be a help. It could augment the shortfall,” Speaker Dennis Bonnen (R) said. “But I don’t believe it’s anywhere near a singular solution.”The speaker added that he would vote against legalization, arguing that it “creates other financial costs outside of the benefit of the tax income.”And besides, he said in an interview with Spectrum News Austin, the revenue to be derived from ending cannabis prohibition and taxing sales would not...

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Texas House Speaker Says Legalizing Marijuana ‘Could Be A Help’ To Budget Woes, But He’d Vote Against It

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