What happens to Texas weed after the Biden Justice Department loosens federal pot rules?

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News that the Biden Justice Department is looking to loosen federal rules on marijuana, possibly reclassifying the weed as a lesser drug, brought new hope to many who want pot decriminalized.

In Texas, where the substance is still illegal, advocates for pot were cautiously optimistic.

“I’ve heard it so many times, I try not to get too hyped up until it happens,” said Peyton Merrell, US Weed Investing CEO and founder. “Because, you know, blood pressure.”

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In the halls of Congress, the reaction from Democrats were unsurprisingly effusive.

“It is great news that DEA is finally recognizing that restrictive and draconian cannabis laws need to change to catch up to what science and the majority of Americans have said loud and clear,”Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., told Rollcall.com.

The fight to legalize recreational marijuana has been a slog since Colorado and Washington first passed legislation in 2012 to make pot lawful. Still, issues of banking, cultivation and transport have made the lucrative weed sector a tough business to manage.

The proposed rule changes could open the door for Congress to write laws that would allow financial institutions to serve cannabis operations and to remove the drug entirely from the federal drug schedule.

There is clear support for legal marijuana use among Americans, according to Gallup.com, with the strongest proponents coming from self-identified liberals (91%) and Democrats (87%). The lowest support was among conservatives (52%) and Republicans (55%). Support is inversely correlated with age, reaching 79% among 18- to 34-year-olds. Still, among the oldest age group, nearly two-thirds (64%) are in favor.

“Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana. It’s time that we right these wrongs,” President Joe Biden said in a statement in 2022, telegraphing his intentions on marijuana. “Sending people to prison for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives and incarcerated people for conduct that many states no longer prohibit.”

The Justice Department is recommending a reclassification of cannabis from a Schedule 1 to Schedule 3 drug, according to the New York Times. The move would position cannabis alongside other Schedule 3 drugs such as ketamine and testosterone, and out of Schedule 1, which is used to classify drugs the government sees as more addictive.

“This is the same schedule as for heroin and LSD, and even higher than the classification of fentanyl and methamphetamine — the drugs that are driving our overdose epidemic,” President Biden said.

If adopted, what will the pot rule changes truly mean for Texas?

Well, not much. Weed is still unlawful to possess and use, according to Texas law.

State law is tough on marijuana offenses. Fines can run in the thousands, plus years in jail. Here’s how the penalties shake out for marijuana possession:

• 2 ounces or less — Class B misdemeanor with a maximum fine of $2,000 and up to 180 days incarcerated.

• 2-4 ounces — Class A misdemeanor with a maximum fine of $4,000 and up to one year incarcerated.

• 4 ounces to 5 pounds — State jail felony with a maximum fine of $10,000 and 180 days to 2 years incarcerated.

• 5 to 50 pounds — 3rd degree felony with a maximum fine of $10,000 and two to 10 years incarcerated.

• 50 to 2,000 pounds — 2nd degree felony with a maximum fine of $10,000 and two to 20 years incarcerated.

• 2,000 pounds or more — 1st degree felony with a maximum fine of $50,000 five to 99 years incarcerated.

The penalties for selling marijuana are:

• 7 grams or less for no remuneration — Class B misdemeanor with a maximum fine of $2,000 and up to 180 days incarcerated.

• 7 grams or less — Class A misdemeanor with a maximum fine of $4,000 and up to a year incarcerated.

• 7 grams to 5 pounds — State jail felony with a maximum fine of $10,000 and 180 days to two years incarcerated.

• 5 to 50 pounds — 2nd degree felony with a maximum fine of $10,000 and two to 20 years incarcerated.

• 50 to 2,000 pounds — 1st degree felony with a maximum fine of $10,000 and five to 99 years incarcerated.

• 2,000 pounds or more — Enhanced 1st degree felony with a maximum fine of $100,000 and 10 to 99 years incarcerated.

The Texas Department of Public Safety operates an online registry of physicians who prescribe low-grade cannabis to people with epilepsy, cancer, autism and other conditions. Finding a physician to prescribe low-THC can be found by searching the DPS website.

Talk of changing federal marijuana rules brings hope to Texas pot proponents

The news of adjusting how the federal government sees pot brings new hope to a fledgling movement in Texas to see pot decriminalized — a possible light at the end of a long and hazy tunnel. How it all shakes up is still anyone’s guess.

But if the government does reclassify marijuana, Merrell, the staunch supporter of legal pot, said he’ll be the first person to shout from the rooftops.

“I don’t think it’s gonna happen,” he said. “If it does happen, you’ll hear from me.”

In Texas, a pie in the sky gambit to change minds on legal pot

As dozens of investors earlier this year gathered in conference rooms at a Richardson co-working space to explore the economic benefits of cannabis, CBD proponents are banking on the promise of free-flowing tax dollars to make the legalization of marijuana a more palatable dream for Texas.

While recreational pot is still outlawed in the state, hemp and CBD in its many forms are legal, as is medicinal marijuana.

“If they’re not opening the floor for legislation for us now, it doesn’t matter,” Merrell said. “We’re just gonna open up CBD stores and kick the door down.”

If the legal CBD market can quickly scale up its reach, the thinking goes, the state could no longer stay blind to the potential revenue legal marijuana can generate. Merrell and his cohorts are hoping the growth can convince a skeptical legislature to ride pot’s lucrative gravy train.

The plan is predicated on saturating the CBD market to show cannabis’ lucrative side. The success other states have had with lawful recreational marijuana has infused the group in Texas with the confidence that a blueprint has already been drawn. It is now a matter of executing the plan.

Take California, where residents voted to legalize recreational marijuana usage in 2016. The first recreational marijuana sale wouldn’t come till 2018, but ever since, the Golden State has been rolling in cannabis tax revenue.

In 2018, California raked in over $400 million in cannabis tax revenue. The highest yearly revenue generated from the tax came in 2021 at over $1.3 billion, according to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.

Only the first three quarters of cannabis tax revenue generated in 2023 have been reported, but in total, California has collected nearly $5.5 billion since 2018.

The economic windfall is obvious from what other states are now raking in. Merrell hopes Texas takes note.

“It will force lawmakers to do something,” Merrell said. “If they don’t, we’re taking Texas’ tax dollars over and over.”

This was the message Merrell’s “Cannabis Gala” shared with potential investors at the Jan. 13 gathering.

To sweeten the pot, so to speak, organizers brought a bit of Hollywood smoke to the gathering, teasing the opening later this year of a Cheech and Chong’s Cannabis Company storefront in Mansfield. DRMZ Investments, who manages cannabis brands such as CBD Pros, is responsible for the brand associated with the big screen stoner duo played by Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong in movies such as 1978’s “Up in Smoke.”

“If we can make sure that everyone in Texas knows that you can get high off CBD and we can do that by slapping Cheech and Chong’s on the logo, [lawmakers] have no choice,” Merrell said. “They’re either going to lose tax dollars or make the state recreational.”