Legalizing it, in Texas

        In 2012, according to the Texas Department of Pub­lic Safety, 57% of the 116,634 adult arrests for drug possession, and a astonishing 81% of the 8,132 juvenile arrests for drug possession, were for possession of pot. Consider a low-level offender popped for pot and sentenced to a year in county jail – in Austin that costs taxpayers an average of $38,548 per inmate per year. If Texas were to legalize the use and possession of marijuana and hemp this would not only make the state a substantial amount of revenue but it would also benefit Texas taxpayers by saving them a large sum of money per year. It would also relieve some of the major over-crowding that Texas jails are experiencing. Under Texas law a conviction could follow that person by not allowing them the to go the college, or even get a well-paying job. This is not only detrimental to the people be convicted but also to the Texas taxpayers and even the Texas economy itself. According the Huffington Post, in the first month Colorado topped over $14 million dollars in its sale of marijuana for recreational use. Texas a much larger state could possibly even make more than that.
        Another positive would be the medicinal benefits for cancer and AIDS patients. Marijuana is much less harmful to the body than Chemo Therapy, radiation treatments, or even strong narcotics when ingested orally through food or essential oils and not smoked. There are countless medicinal qualities associated with marijuana including eating disorders, pain, anxiety, and sleeping disorders. The legalization of marijuana could potentially be a major cash crop for Texas farmers and the economy. Some believe that decriminalization is "on tap" for the 2015 legislative session. That is a step in the right direction but there is much more work to be done for the legalization of marijuana in Texas.