12 February 16-22, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents legalize the recreational use of cannabis for adults. Under González’s House Bill 1937, adults 21 and older would be allowed to possess and transport up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis. No more than 15 grams of that can be in the form of a cannabis concentrate. At their homes, adults would be allowed to possess or process no more than 10 ounces of cannabis. If there’s more than 2.5 ounces in a person’s home, the excess must be securely stored. Individual cities and counties would be al- lowed to legalize recreational adult-use canna- bis, but it would be up to the state to regulate the stuff under HB 1937. Specifically, the bill directs the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation to adopt all the necessary rules for the bill, concluding licensing, regulation, testing standards and transportation. In a press release about the bill, González pointed out that 21 states have legalized can- nabis, and 27 have decriminalized cannabis use. Recent studies have also shown a ma- jority of Texans support some form of can- nabis legalization, González said. “While Texas has made progress with the Compassionate Use Act, we have been left be- hind on a potential revenue source that would increase investments in public educa- tion, stop unnecessary arrests for cannabis possession, and create jobs in our state,” Gonzålez said in the press release. “We should allow our local communities to make the best decision for themselves regarding cannabis legalization, and House Bill 1937 would allow that for adults 21 years or older.” The bill would also impose a 10% tax on cannabis products. The taxes collected would go toward cannabis regulation, test- ing and quality control and local oversight, with the remainder reserved for the Foun- dation School Fund, the primary source of state funding for school districts. It’s not likely this bill will make it to the governor’s desk, Jesse Williams, a local can- nabis advocate, told the Observer. Williams, the managing editor and deputy director of the online publication Texas Cannabis Col- lective, said even if it does, Gov. Greg Abbott is unlikely to sign it. Aside from its chances of passing, Wil- liams sees some problems with the bill. “I imagine some of the biggest opposition to this in the cannabis community will be the 10% tax added on top of other taxes that are already required to be collected by busi- nesses,” Williams said. “We already know from other states that if it becomes too costly to enter the market and too costly for the customer vs. the black market, a portion of customers will go to the black market.” In a world where this bill does become law in Texas, Dallas might have a chance at legalization. If given the chance by the state, Dallas City Council members Chad West and Adam Bazaldua said they would vote to legalize adult recreational use of cannabis in Big D. “I would absolutely vote to legalize recreational cannabis use in the city of Dal- las if given the opportunity to by the state,” Bazaldua told the Observer. West said just about the same, adding that adult recreational use of cannabis would need to come with strong regulation. Texas passed its heavily restrictive medi- cal cannabis program through the Compas- sionate Use Act in 2015. About two years later, West and a group of investors applied to get one of the first licenses to cultivate and sell cannabis products in the state pro- gram. They did not get the license, but West said he still sees medicinal and recreational value in cannabis. “I’ve personally been in the medical mari- juana business myself in the private sector and I believe in it for both medicinal use and recre- ational use,” West said. “The city and the state both spend a lot of resources prosecuting mar- ijuana offenses. If we found a way to regulate it and to capitalize on it, it could be a big money- maker for the state and also a way to safely reg- ulate something that is not regulated right now. … I believe the benefits of legalizing it far outweigh the problems associated with it.” If passed and signed into law, HB 1937 would take effect Sept. 1. ▼ IMMIGRATION IMMIGRANTS VS. ABBOTT SOME SAY GOV. ABBOTT IS A ‘HYPOCRITE,’ AND CALL ON THE VP FOR HELP. BY SIMONE CARTER H ilda Ramirez lives in fear each day that she’ll be separated from her son. The woman, who has taken sanctu- ary at a Texas church, is one of millions of undocumented immigrants living in limbo across the U.S. Recently, a group called the National Sanctuary Collective (Colectivo Santuario) held a virtual press conference outlining a letter they’d sent to Vice President Kamala Harris. They’re asking Harris, herself the daughter of immigrants, to live up to the promises she made about immigration re- form while on the campaign trail. The way the collective sees it, Harris could flex her political muscle with a Demo- cratic Senate majority or urge President Joe Biden to join the fight. “We cannot get used to living in pain, fear and uncertainty day by day, thinking that at any moment immigration could decide to come for me,” Ramirez said in a news re- lease. “It should be easy for the most power- ful government to give me permanent status and not separate me from my son, who just last week received his Green Card. I thought the U.S. government was going to stop sepa- rating families.” Republican politicians like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott complain that the White House’s border stance is too soft. Many progressive groups, though, argue that the federal government should do more to forge a road to citizenship. Abbott and Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Florida Republican, have each boasted of efforts to ship mi- grants — by bus or plane — to far-flung lib- eral-led locales. The moves may have scored them points among their base, but critics decry it as a cruel act of political theater. Some accuse them of using mi- grants as pawns, as political observers have speculated that both governors may run for president in 2024. Abbott recently shared a video of border wall construction taking place along Texas’ southern frontier. The Twitter post came days after he’d announced the creation of a so-called border czar to help ramp up the state’s wall-building efforts. Abbott has long worked toward a broader border clamp- down. Nearly two years ago, he heralded the launch of Operation Lone Star, a more- than-$4-billion effort that’s seen state troop- ers and soldiers with the Texas National Guard apprehend migrants attempting to enter the U.S. Both Abbott and his second-in-com- mand, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, have previously been slammed by rights groups for dubbing the country’s border crisis an “invasion.” The man believed to have fatally shot 23 people at an El Paso Walmart in August 2019 referenced a supposed “Hispanic invasion” in his manifesto. Texas GOP politicians’ “invasion” rheto- ric doesn’t sit well with Carmen Zuvieta, an immigration activist who spoke during Monday’s virtual press conference. “The governor has said that we are invad- ers. I think he has lost where his feet are,” she said through an English translator. “First, we’re in Texas. So, I think that he got [it] wrong as to who the invaders are.” “But he was just a hypocrite,” Zuvieta said. “He does not love human beings, because it doesn’t matter that they are immigrants.” Wikimedia Commons If House Bill 1937 passes, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation would need to start issuing licenses to cannabis operations by November 2024. Unfair Park from p10 SCAN HERE TO WIN www.dallasobserver.com/signup go to WEEKLY EMAIL D SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY EMAIL LIST for feature stories, movie reviews, calendar picks and more!
