It’s 4-20. April 20th. Stoners may argue about how the tradition got started, but this is the day for fans to light up a fatty.
Marijuana advocates are hoping to "smoke out" the U.S. Capitol. The founder of the pro-pot group DCMJ says activists plan on lighting up in front of the Capitol's eastern steps this afternoon at 4:20 p.m. They hope the stunt will bring attention to how Congressional Republicans have blocked the passage of full legalization of the drug in DC. DCMJ founder Adam Eidinger says the protesters have prepared to be in jail for an extended period of time.
Meanwhile, Jax Finkel, the Executive Director of the Texas chapter of NORML, the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws, says SB 81, which would lower the penalty for possession of small amounts of marijuana, is moving forward. “It passed out of the Committee with a vote of 4 to 2, and now it’s moved to Calendars, where it was recently assigned, and from that point they’ll set it to the agenda for the House floor,” she tells KTRH News. The first section of the bill lays out how penalties would be assessed:
SECTION 1. Section 481.121(b), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) An offense under Subsection (a) is:
(1) a Class B misdemeanor if the amount of marihuana
possessed is two ounces or less but more than one ounce;
(2) a Class A misdemeanor if the amount of marihuana
possessed is four ounces or less but more than two ounces;
(3) a state jail felony if the amount of marihuana
possessed is five pounds or less but more than four ounces;
(4) a felony of the third degree if the amount of
marihuana possessed is 50 pounds or less but more than 5 pounds;
(5) a felony of the second degree if the amount of
marihuana possessed is 2,000 pounds or less but more than 50 pounds;
and
(6) punishable by imprisonment in the Texas Department
of Criminal Justice for life or for a term of not more than 99 years
or less than 5 years, and a fine not to exceed $50,000, if the amount
of marihuana possessed is more than 2,000 pounds.
Finkel says NORMAL is focusing on five priorities this legislative session, with decriminalization and an opening of applications for medical marijuana usage.