4 December 8–14, 2022 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Month XX–Month XX, 2014 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER | Classified | MusiC | dish | Movies | Culture | Night+day | feature | sChutze | uNfair Park | CoNteNts | Weed Redux Texas Lawmakers are taking another try at cannabis reform. by Jacob Vaughn F rom penalty reductions for posses- sion to full-on legalization, Texas lawmakers are taking swings at cannabis reform ahead of the up- coming legislative session. State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt submitted Sen- ate Bill 209 on the first day of early filing. If it’s approved, Texas would be among the growing number of states to legalize and regulate adult- use cannabis. It would set up a licensing struc- ture for the growing and selling of cannabis for people 21 and older. Adults would be allowed to possess and transport up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis. Only 15 grams of that can be in the form of a concentrate like wax, vapes or edi- bles. Adults would also be allowed to grow up to 12 cannabis plants for personal use. Eckhardt also filed Senate Joint Resolu- tion 22, which directs the Legislature to amend the state constitution to “authorize and regulate the possession, cultivation, and sale of cannabis.” Local cannabis advocate Jesse Williams isn’t too sure how successful Eckhardt’s le- galization efforts will be. Williams is also the managing editor and deputy director of the online publication Texas Cannabis Collec- tive. The midterm election hurt the chances of sweeping cannabis reform in Texas, he believes, with Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick winning new terms in office. “I don’t see the governor signing off on any legalization bill if it even got to his desk unless it had two-thirds support in both chambers,” Williams said. “Dan Patrick isn’t likely at all to even let it get heard in a Senate committee. It would be a head turner to even have Eckhardt’s joint resolution SJR22 get placed in a committee in the Senate.” He’s more confident, though, about Rep. Joe Moody’s House Bill 218, which would reduce penalties for the possession of can- nabis and cannabis concentrates. Current state law makes marijuana possession of up to 2 ounces a Class B misdemeanor. Between 2 and 4 ounces is a Class A misdemeanor that could get you a year in county jail and up to a $4,000 fine. Anything above 4 ounces is a felony. Possession of any amount of con- centrate is a felony. Under Moody’s bill, 1 ounce or less of flower or concentrate would be a Class C mis- demeanor. This would also be only a citable offense. From there, possession of 1 to 2 ounces of flower or concentrate would be a Class B misdemeanor. Between 2 and 4 ounces of flower or concentrate would be a Class A misdemeanor. “Reducing small amounts of concentrate to a misdemeanor would save people from felony charges,” Williams said. This could also go a long way for people who purchase consumable hemp products, he said. Since 2019, products made from hemp have been legal at the federal and state level. Hemp is cannabis with less than 0.3% delta-9 THC, the chief component that gets users high. But a lack of regulation has made for an environment in which someone’s sup- posedly legal hemp product could contain il- legal amounts of delta-9 THC. If you were caught with something like that today, you could get stuck with a felony. Not so under Moody’s bill, Williams said. There are some other bills with similar aims, like House Bill 388 filed by Harris County’s Senfronia Thompson, which would make marijuana possession of up to 2 ounces a Class C misdemeanor. Although Texas’ conservative culture might make it seem like some of these bills have no chance of becoming laws, Williams said he tries to stay optimistic about every legislative session. He said he thinks a key to proponents’ success this time around will be big turnouts on lobby days and during com- mittee hearings. “It’s been evident with other issues in Texas during prior sessions that these large in- person turnouts can change the language and even the trajectory of a bill to make it to our governor’s desk and signed,” Williams said. Moody told the Observer he hopes he and others can succeed at three main objectives: First, he hopes they can get a penalty re- duction bill to the governor’s desk. “Many jurisdictions are doing that already,” he said. “Let’s create a uniform law for everybody in Texas, so it doesn’t matter which county you live in, you’re going to be treated the same when it comes to these low-grade posses- sion offenses.” Second, he wants to be able to expand the state’s medical marijuana program, the Texas Compassionate Use Program, to in- clude more people. Lastly, he wants to have an idea of what a retail cannabis market would look like in Texas. “Now I’m not under any illusion that that’s going to become law in 2023,” Moody said. “But if it’s ever going to happen, lawmakers need to start discussing it now. Let’s have a public hearing on it. Let’s get the numbers on the table. What kind of revenue does this bring in? Let’s start looking at what the Texas system will be some day because we are going to pass that at some point in the future. So, let’s start having that conversation.” ▼ RangeRs Play Ball Four Moves the texas rangers Could (and should) Make this oFFseason. by TyleR Hicks I t would be accurate to say that being a fan of the Texas Rangers baseball club is like being Charlie Brown, hoping that maybe, just maybe, Lucy won’t pull the football away this time. But there’s a better way to sum up the ex- istence we Rangers fans have endured for much of our team’s history, an existence largely spent in the basement. We are indeed Charlie Brown, and our rogues’ gallery of general managers faith- fully inhabits the role of Lucy. But it seems there is no football to kick: It was false hope. Instead, we’re lying on our backs in some ritzy ballpark in Arlington hoping there will one day be a real ball. At least then we’d have something to miss. Nevertheless, hope springs eternal in winter, the time of year when baseball fans around the country hope their team makes a big splash via free agency or the trade mar- ket. Sometimes those splashes turn into belly flops upon second glance, but other times, the splashes help the team at least gravitate toward the right direction (see: the Rangers signing of Corey Seager and Mar- cus Semien last year). The Rangers brass, in all their Lucy- esque deviousness, have lined up the prover- bial ball and given us all hope by indicating they will again be big spenders this offsea- son. General manager Chris Young even hopes to contend as early as next year. With that in mind, and with the annual winter meetings that began on Sunday in San Diego, here are four moves the Rangers could, and should, make this offseason. Fill the hole in Left Field Thus far, much of the offseason buzz sur- rounding the Rangers has involved signing pitcher Jacob deGrom. But for my money, it makes more sense to start in left field, a posi- tion that hasn’t seen consistent, high-quality play in years. Ex-Red Sox and Yankees out- fielder Andrew Benintendi is this offsea- son’s premier free agent at that position, which means he is likely to command the kind of dough the Rangers would rather spend on pitching. But why not split the dif- ference and spend a little on both? Benintendi is 28, which means he could be contributing at a high level for the next five years. That’s not something you can say for fellow outfield free agents Michael Brantley and Andrew McCutchen, nor should Benintendi command the kind of sal- ary sought by Seager and Semien last year. With this All-Star in left field, the Rangers would finally fill a hole that’s plagued them year after year while preventing the rival Houston Astros from landing yet another significant offensive piece. Sign carlos Rodón Rodón is an outstanding pitcher coming off two stellar years in a row and, perhaps, best of all he is 28. Seeing a pattern here? While deGrom and Verlander are the bigger names, Rodón, like Benintendi, has a less- taxed arm and a friend in Father Time. Plus, Rodón made more starts in the 2022 season than deGrom did in ’21 and ’22 combined. As things stand, I’ll take the guy in his 20s. Sign brandon Drury Now that we theoretically have a couple young(ish) guys locked up for the near future, let’s look elsewhere on the roster. It might not be pretty, but it’s a start. With a guy like Corey Seager and pieces like Benintendi, Semien and first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, you’re well on your way to a decent lineup. Enter Brandon Drury, a former Red and Padre who turned in a superb season in 2022, just in time for a nifty new contract. He may not get the money fellow former Pa- dre and Texas native Josh Bell will get this offseason, but Drury is 30 and versatile. He can hold down multiple positions while pro- ducing with the bat, and that’s exactly the kind of guy you hand some solid money to for the next few years while trying out the youngsters. I’m looking at you, Josh Jung and Justin Foscue. Enter the Trade Market At this point, it may be tempting to snag some of the intriguing bullpen arms up for grabs this offseason. And, hey, I like Matt Strahm as much as the next guy. But as bad as the ’pen may be, the starting rotation is in even worse shape. So instead of spending more dough on the open market, let’s have fun with some trades. | unfAiR pARk | Is Texas getting closer to legally lighting up? Photo illustration by Sarah Schumacher >> p6
