Washarapol D BinYo Jundang / Pexels
Austin voters will decide in the current election whether they want to decriminalize pot.
Perhaps it should come as little surprise then that the platform, adopted over the weekend at the Texas GOP's convention in Houston, includes a plank opposing the "legalization of recreational marijuana."
That's significant because the GOP controls the Texas Legislature and holds every one of Texas' statewide offices, potentially blocking any forward movement on weed reform. It also suggests the party isn't listening to Lone Star State residents, who have favored legalization in recent surveys.
A recent Dallas Morning News-University of Texas at Tyler poll, for example, shows that 60% of Texas voters support legalizing pot for recreational use, while 83% want it legal for medical use.
The Texas Republicans' new platform also includes other regressive drug-policy positions. Among other things, it calls for drug testing people on public assistance, opposes needle exchange programs and backs "faith-based rehabilitation" for people battling addiction.
However, the platform does include a plank which calls for switching marijuana from a federal Schedule I drug, which includes addictive substances such as heroin, to Schedule II, which is used to designate drugs with safe medial uses.
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