Three drug trafficking strategies have been developed in the world: prohibitive, legal, and intermediate, or the concept of less harm, which is observed in the United States, including in Texas. The international practice of using anti-drug programs is different. As prevention of drug use and assistance to patients in a number of countries it is replacing forceful methods of struggle. Therefore, in Texas, as in many other US states, there is a discussion about what penalties should follow for marijuana drug offences.
The issue of legalizing marijuana is increasingly being discussed in the Texas press. In particular, the 1993 Frankfurt Resolution aims to abolish criminal liability and fines for drug use since they do not contribute to helping drug addicts (Testa & Lee, 2021). Activists want the possession of an ounce of marijuana to be allowed for persons over the age of 21 (Lepage, 2020). Although, at the moment, in Texas, it is considered an offence and is subject to a fine of $100 (Testa & Lee, 2021). In favor of the abolition of punishment for marijuana drug offenses, data from a survey of citizens are provided. Most young people believe that this narcotic plant can become a new source of profit that will ease the state’s budget deficit (Omori, 2019). Although at the same time, there are concerns of critics who claim that the harm caused to society by legalization will exceed the possible economic benefits (Omori, 2019). In particular, the legalization of marijuana in Texas may cause a decrease in academic performance and an increase in the number of traffic accidents and accidents at work.
In addition, in Texas, a prison sentence is imposed for possession of any amount of an illegal drug. However, in 13 states (Alaska, Washington, Hawaii, California, Oregon, and others), from 1996 to 2009, laws were passed abolishing criminal liability for the possession and cultivation of marijuana for those who need it for medical reasons (Lepage, 2020). This initiative is also being considered in Texas, but no serious steps are being taken to adopt it (Lepage, 2020). The greatest discussion is caused by the experience of the attitude to marijuana drug offenses in New Jersey, where a bill on the legalization of marijuana was approved on January 11, 2010 (Collier, Galatas, & Harrelson-Stephens, 2021). According to it, doctors are allowed to prescribe the drug to those suffering from severe chronic diseases (Lepage, 2020). Patients will be given no more than two ounces per month. Some Texas education and law enforcement officials strongly object to the bill. Their arguments are that in this way, access to smoking marijuana will now be significantly facilitated, including by a large number of teenagers (Omori, 2019). In addition, the introduction of this project will increase the pressure in schools on students from their peers, which will negatively affect the situation in the districts.
The transition to an intermediate drug trafficking strategy in the United States is associated with a slow but steady increase in the general involvement of American school graduates in marijuana, which is also observed in Texas. The annual increase, not exceeding 2%, led to the fact that in the spring of 2018, the number of people with experience of at least one-time drug use reached 55%, that is, it has risen by almost 14% in six years (Omori, 2019). The number of current consumers in Texas has also increased significantly, amounting to 25% in 2018 (Lepage, 2020). After 2019, an extremely slow but still decline in the level of familiarity with marijuana began from 0.1% per year, reaching 2% in 2020, and the total familiarity with them increased to 52% (Omori, 2019). Due to the growing popularization and normalization of marijuana use in Texas, public activists, in particular young people, propose to revise and make marijuana drug offenses less strict.
Today, cannabis is the most common narcotic in Texas. However, the state’s policy regarding control over it has a very different nature, and opinions on this matter differ between the public and official representatives. One of the positions is the effectiveness of a controlled tolerance regime for marijuana. Its adherents see the relationship between the criminal legislation of Texas, which does not allow drug legalization, and the growth of drug addiction (Lepage, 2020). Opponents of the position of mitigation of marijuana drug offenses are convinced that drug dealers invest heavily in increasing the strength of the effects of marijuana on the human body and, accordingly, its market attractiveness. Therefore, in their opinion, the legalization of marijuana in Texas will have disastrous consequences (Collier, Galatas, & Harrelson-Stephens, 2021). Thus, according to this position, the spread of marijuana in Texas as a threat to human health requires effective and long-term measures and the tightening of existing marijuana drug offenses.
The attitude towards marijuana drug offenses in Texas remains controversial. Although at the moment, the consumer is criminally punished for the consumption and carrying of the drug, the opinion of the public and their representatives at the legislative level on this issue differs. The older generation is convinced that the improvement of the legal framework for anti-drug activities in Texas has developed a mechanism for its practical implementation. The youth also supports the opinion that the cooperation of state bodies in the legalization of marijuana would be in compliance with international legal norms. Thus, the issue of marijuana drug offenses in Texas remains open, and the possibility of revising the current legislation is not excluded in the future.
References
Collier, K., Galatas, S. E., & Harrelson-Stephens, J. D. (2021). Lone star politics: Tradition and transformation in Texas. CQ Press.
Lepage, L. P. (2020). Are criminals strategic? Offender responses to drug sentencing cutoffs. Labour Economics, 66(1), 1–12. Web.
Omori, M. (2019). “Nickel and dimed” for drug crime: Unpacking the process of cumulative racial inequality. The Sociological Quarterly, 60(2), 287–313. Web.
Testa, A., & Lee, J. G. (2021). Trends in sentencing of federal drug offenders: Findings from U.S. district courts 2002–2017. Journal of Drug Issues, 51(1), 84–108. Web.