Marijuana decriminalization

It is a new age! Unless you live under a rock, you’ve most likely have heard that marijuana is on the slow and steady path to legalization. In March of 2019, it was announced that Texas legislation would vote on whether or not “Mary Jane” will be decriminalized. The bill suggests that the possession of up to an ounce of marijuana should be considered a civil offence and requires a fine of up to $250. This would save the state about $2.6 million a year in criminal cases according to the nonpartisan Legislative Budget Board. This bill, House Bill 63, has been proposed by Joe Moody, a democrat from El Paso, three times now. The previous two times the bill was proposed it passed out of the committee but did not make it to a vote in the House. For many people this change could not come soon enough. There was roughly 64,000 people arrested on marijuana charges in the state of Texas in 2017. These kinds of offenses can result in loss of student financial aid and making it much more challenging to find a job or place to live. These sanctions are much higher than the gravity of the crime, which is why representative Moody is working for a change. Not only are these sanctions unfair, but black Americans are having to suffer these consequences the most even though the number of white and black people smoking are roughly the same. Decriminalizing marijuana would not only alleviate unfair sanctions and consequences, but also free blacks from prejudice in the law.