Marijuana Legalization News 2015: Texas Pot Buy & Sell Legalization Soon as House Approves Bill

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If the bill that allows the legal buy and sell of marijuana in Texas gets approved, it will be the 5th state that allows its recreational use.

The House Bill 2165 would allow the legal buy and sell of marijuana in the state, according to the Houston Chronicle. It yielded a 5-2 victory with two republicans joining three Democrats to support it. The bill however was modified to keep minors from using marijuana except under parental supervision.

Texas Rep. David Simpson, a conservative, supported the proposal to legalize marijuana. He has encouraged his Republican colleagues to support the bill with the belief that the government shouldn't be allowed to prohibit God's creations, including plants like cannabis.

"I don't believe that when God made marijuana, he made a mistake that government needs to fix," Simpson wrote, in a post published on the Texas Tribune website. "In the name of protecting the public, certain substances have been declared evil and contraband. So evil are these substances that state and federal agents are empowered to enforce laws with little to no regard for constitutional protection of individual rights, the sanctity of one's home or the right to travel freely.

"The time has come for a thoughtful discussion of the prudence of the prohibition approach to drug abuse, the impact of prohibition enforcement on constitutionally protected liberties and the responsibilities that individuals must take for their own actions."

The Washington Post notes that last Wednesday, the bill was favored by majority of the lawmakers and it is currently being sent to the next step of the legislative process.

"The debate has changed and people aren't afraid to vote for it," says state Rep. Simpson as quoted by US News, referring to the shifting views about marijuana.

Simpson, who introduced the bill a few months ago was inspired by the people who wanted to use the drug for medicine. He is also not in favor of preventing farms from growing industrial hemp or jailing people for the plant.

"A lot of Republicans don't want government interfering with how much you can eat or drink or which doctor they can see - they want freedom," Rep. Simpson said. "And mine is a medical freedom bill and they do like it."

The debate needs to happen come Thursday since Texas' legislative session ends in June.

"Time is the issue now, not necessarily the subject matter," House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee Chairman Todd Hunter said via the San Angelo Standard-Times.