To find the resistance, go to Texas.

Texas is a deep-red state floating in a sea of green. The Lone Star State is surrounded on all sides by jurisdictions — including another sovereign nation in Mexico as well as other U.S. states — with more relaxed and welcoming cannabis laws.

House Bill 1365 was passed by The Texas House of Representatives in a 121-23 vote. Sponsor of the bill, Democratic Rep. Eddie Lucio, told the other lawmakers in the House that he wants to help people in Texas who are suffering from all kinds of conditions.  

“Today, I don’t just stand here as a member of this body but as a voice for thousands of people in this state that are too sick to function or that in constant, debilitating pain,” said Lucio.  

The bill adds more than a dozen “debilitating medical conditions,” including cancer, HIV/AIDS, PTSD and Crohn’s disease to Texas' medical cannabis program. Conditions that cause pain, vomiting, seizures and other symptoms are also included in the bill.

The Texas House on Monday advanced a bill that would expand the list of debilitating conditions that allow Texans to legally use medical cannabis.

House Bill 1365 would add Alzheimer’s, Crohn’s disease, muscular dystrophy, post-traumatic stress disorder, autism and a bevy of other illnesses to an existing state program that currently applies only to people with intractable epilepsy who meet certain requirements.

On Monday, Texas House lawmakers accomplished an historic first for the state. They voted to approve a partial decriminalization bill that would have reduced penalties for the possession of small quantities of cannabis. But as soon as the House sent the measure to the Senate, Lt. Gov. of Texas and Senate President Dan Patrick declared the bill dead. Patrick’s comments came on the heels of a similar statement from Senate Criminal Justice Committee Chair John Whitmire, who told reporters there wasn’t “an appetite” for marijuana reform in the upper chamber. Advocates of the decriminalization measure had already compromised on the bill to get it through the House.

After a brief discussion, the Texas House gave preliminary approval Monday to a bill that would reduce the penalties for low-level possession of marijuana — a move lauded as a win by those eager for the state to take its first major step toward loosening its staunch marijuana laws.

But hopes of turning the bill into law remain slim. After the House grants final approval for the bill — usually just a formality — it will head to the Senate, where presiding officer Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has expressed opposition to the idea of loosening marijuana possession penalties.

In an effort to make one of the most populated states more marijuana-friendly, Texas State legislators are moving towards decriminalizing simple possession, along with a couple of other things.

Texas has long been one of the states that have been on the front lines of the War on Drugs.

3 major bills in the works

Currently there are 3 very important bills that may revolutionize the cannabis laws in Texas.

The first one, and the one most likely to pass, is the Act which would decriminalize simple possession. That bill advanced from the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee a few days ago.

Recreational cannabis use remains illegal in 40 US states, writes Calvin Hughes. But not all jurisdictions enforce prohibition with the same zeal. Some areas are more ruthless than others. With that in mind, here are the top 5 counties that have the highest rates of marijuana arrests, according to FBI data from 2016.

A memo released by the Dallas County district attorney John Creuzot states that first-time cannabis-related misdemeanors will no longer be prosecuted by his office. He also announced in the statement that first-time misdemeanors currently in-process that were filed before he took office will be thrown out.

Creuzot said the change is just part of “a step forward in ending mass incarceration in Dallas County.” The memo also included other changes in priority for law enforcement such as no longer prosecuting small possession charges for other drugs, people caught stealing “necessities” as well as anyone who drove with a suspended license.  

CBD oil-infused gummy bears, lattes and other food, drinks and dietary supplements are selling quickly even though the U.S. government says they’re illegal and local authorities have forced some retailers to pull products. The confusion has the nation’s two largest states and others moving to legalize the cannabis compound that many see as beneficial to their health.

Lawmakers in Texas and California are often in opposition, but they’re both pushing bipartisan legislation to sidestep federal law and allow sales of the compound found in hemp and marijuana. Republicans and Democrats in Congress also are urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to change its stance.

The FDA announced Tuesday that it will hold a public hearing in May to gather more information.