Beto O’Rourke Tell Texas Veterans He Wants to Legalize Marijuana

At a series of town halls with Texas Veterans, Beto O’Rourke said he’ll fight to legalize marijuana if elected governor.

While continuing his visits across Texas, at a series of earlier town halls O’Rourke has said he has received positive support from Veterans on the marijuana issue.

O’Rourke tweeted on Wednesday: "Veterans say it’s time for this state to legalize marijuana. The people of Texas agree. Now we just need a governor who will get it done."

In Texas, veterans account for about 157,761 people as of 2019 according to Texas Workforce Investment Council.

As early as March, O’Rourke voiced his support in Austin at a dinner for the South by Southwest panel.

O’Rourke said: “I’ll let you in on a secret: Republicans like to get high just as much as Democrats.”

Some Republican states have legalized recreational marijuana but Texas has not.

He added: “When I’m governor, we’re going to legalize marijuana in the state of Texas. [It is] a substance that is legal in most of the rest of the country, most of the rest of the free world.”

Here is where Governor Abbott stands on marijuana

Governor Greg Abbott supports decriminalizing weed but does not support recreational use.

Earlier this year, Governor Abbott stated: “Marijuana is now a Class C misdemeanor in the state of Texas, and so one thing that that I believe in — and I believe the state legislature believes in — and that is prison and jail is a place for dangerous criminals who may harm others, and small possession of marijuana is not the type of violation that we want to stockpile jails with. So, we have been making steps in that regard."

In a Gallup poll taken last year, 68% of Americans support legalizing marijuana.