Is marijuana legal in Texas? What you need to know about the state’s pot laws.
A proposed change in how the federal government classifies the drug won’t change state laws. Full Story
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![Products containing Delta-8 at Oasis A CBD Wellness Shop in Brownsville on Nov. 8, 2021.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Texas politicians can change their minds. But it helps if the public goes first.
Gov. Greg Abbott’s openness to marijuana decriminalization shows that the state, while conservative, isn’t immune to larger trends. Full Story
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![A recently harvested marijuana flower hangs up to dry at Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation Medical Marijuana facility in South Austin on April 30, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Austin voters could decriminalize small amounts of pot in May
“Small possession of marijuana is not the type of violation that we want to stockpile jails with,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday. Full Story
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![Mature marijuana plants at Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation Medical Marijuana facility in South Austin on April 30, 2021.]()
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Beto O’Rourke’s blunt support of marijuana legalization gives advocates hope for policy change
While the Texas Legislature has been hesitant to embrace policy change, advocates hope the O’Rourke campaign’s attention to marijuana legalization will give the issue a political boost. Full Story
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![Singer Willie Nelson, his son Lukas Nelson and U.S. Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke sing at the “Turn out for Texas Rally with Willie & Beto” event in Austin on September 29, 2018.]()
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Texas said delta-8 is illegal. But state troopers haven’t made a single arrest.
Texas health officials insist delta-8 is an illegal substance and has been for 40 years. Full Story
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![Products containing Delta-8 at Oasis A CBD Wellness Shop in Brownsville on Nov. 8, 2021.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Delta-8 is legal in Texas — for now — after Travis County judge blocks state from criminalizing the cannabis extract
A Travis County judge temporarily blocked the state from listing delta-8 as a Schedule I drug, which effectively made it illegal. The cannabis extract became popular because users say it produces the “high” effect of marijuana. Full Story
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![Products containing Delta 8 THC on the counter at GR8 Vapes in San Marcos on Oct. 20, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas says popular cannabis extract, delta-8, is illegal, sending retailers scrambling
The federal farm bill in 2018 made the substance legal because of its low THC content. Full Story
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![Products containing Delta 8 THC on the counter at GR8 Vapes in San Marcos on October 20, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas cancer patients and people with PTSD will soon be able to join state’s expanded medical marijuana program
A new law going into effect Sept. 1 will also increase the cap of THC in medical marijuana to 1%. Full Story
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![David Bass at his home in Killeen on Aug. 8, 2021. “In the next year, we hope that more municipalities decide to stop wasting police resources on arresting people for small amounts of cannabis.”]()
Credit: Cindy Elizabeth for The Texas Tribune -
Watered-down expansion of Texas’ medical marijuana program signed into law
House Bill 1535 expands eligibility for the Texas Compassionate Use Program to people with cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder. It's effective Sept. 1. Full Story
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![Newly planted marijuana plants at Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation Medical Marijuana facility in South Austin on April 30, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
A bill to expand Texas’ medical marijuana program started moving in the Senate. Advocates worry time is running out.
House Bill 1535 would expand the state’s medical cannabis program to include those with chronic pain, all cancer patients and Texans with post-traumatic stress disorder. Full Story
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![Mature marijuana plants at Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation Medical Marijuana facility in South Austin on April 30, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Judge legislators by what gets their attention — and their neglect
As the Texas Legislature rolls into its final two weeks, it's fair to credit members with what they've done. But pay attention to what they ignored. Full Story
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The criminal penalty for possessing small amounts of marijuana would be reduced under a bill passed by the Texas House
The measure likely faces an uphill climb in the Senate, where two years ago Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick opposed similar legislation. Full Story
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Texas voters' views shifting on abortion, pot, gambling and Confederate monuments, poll finds
According to the latest UT/TT Poll, most Texas voters support expanded gambling and would legalize marijuana. Half would leave Confederate statues and monuments where they are. And they're divided on whether to change state abortion laws or leave them as is. Full Story
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![A container of dried hemp plant with leaves and stems on Jan. 23, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: In a recession, turning to sin might save the Texas budget
The pandemic-induced recession punched a hole in the Texas budget that lawmakers will try to patch when their session starts in January. And a hole in the state's finances almost always starts a conversation about how to raise money. This time, marijuana and casinos are in the spotlight. Full Story
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![Dried hemp plant with leaves and stems on Jan. 23, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
In economic crisis, Texas Democrats push to legalize marijuana. Key Republicans likely stand in the way.
State lawmakers argue that the tax revenue and jobs created by a retail market for cannabis could help the state devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. Full Story
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![Marijuana plants at Compassionate Cultivation, a home-grown medical cannabis company in Austin that serves patients throughout Texas. Jan. 19, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Austin police will no longer cite or arrest people for possessing small amounts of marijuana
The police chief announced the policy change Thursday, more than a year after the Texas Legislature legalized hemp and complicated marijuana prosecution throughout the state. Full Story
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![An Austin police officer pulls over a vehicle on August 28, 2017.]()
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Texas state crime labs won’t test suspected marijuana in low-level cases
The Texas Department of Public Safety said last week that it would not perform testing to distinguish between hemp and marijuana in misdemeanor cases. Full Story
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![A container of dried hemp plant with leaves and stems on Jan. 23, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Hemp is booming in Texas. Distinguishing it from marijuana is still a challenge.
In this video, The Texas Tribune dug into hemp and marijuana with lawmakers, crime lab scientists, criminal defense attorneys and hemp entrepreneurs. Full Story
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![A container of dried hemp plant with leaves and stems on Jan. 23, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
CBD, hemp, medical marijuana? Here's what you need to know about Texas' changing pot laws.
Marijuana and hemp are often indistinguishable by look or smell because they both come from the cannabis plant. But hemp is legal, and marijuana is not. Full Story
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![The Custom Botanical Dispensary in Austin on Jan. 16, 2019.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Austin police chief: We will still ticket, arrest for marijuana
The day after the Austin City Council unanimously approved stopping arrests and tickets for low-level marijuana cases, police Chief Brian Manley said he will continue to enforce such laws. Full Story
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![Austin Police Chief Brian Manley speaks during a news conference near the scene where a woman was injured in a package bomb explosion, in Austin on March 12, 2018.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Sergio Flores
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