Democrats and young adults are driving up support for legalized marijuana in Texas with more than half the state's registered voters believing the prohibition should end.
According to the recent University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll, 53 percent of the state's voters would legalize pot. Another 31 percent say it should be used for medicinal purposes.
“All of the major political parties on the ballot now support decriminalizing low-level amounts of marijuana, allowing patients legal access to cannabis, and in some cases, wanting to repeal prohibition entirely,” says Heather Fazio with the Marijuana Leadership Campaign.
She says the last legislative session showed momentum is growing on both sides of the aisle.
“What we saw with medical cannabis was half of the House signed onto the medical cannabis bill with about a 60-40 split Democrat-Republican.”
Nearly 70 percent of Texas voters support reduced penalties for possessions of small amounts of pot.
“This issue is not about politics, it's not about partisanship, it's about people,” says Fazio. “Now more than ever Texans are sharing their personal or professional experiences with lawmakers and they know enforcing these outdated laws is a waste of resources.”