Low-level marijuana possession would be decriminalized in Texas if a new bill filed this week by a key House leader is enacted.
The measure, HB 3242, from Rep. Joe Moody (D), would make simple possession of up to an ounce of cannabis flower a Class C misdemeanor—explicitly removing the risk of arrest and incarceration.
Class C misdemeanors are punishable by a fine of up to $500, with no possibility of jail time. Currently simple possession of cannabis is a Class B misdemeanor, which carries penalties of up to 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine.
Moody’s proposal, introduced on Monday, is the latest of nearly two dozen cannabis-related bills filed so far in Texas for the current legislative session. Various other measures would legalize adult-use marijuana, prohibit certain hemp-derived products, remove criminal penalties for cannabis possession and adjust the state’s existing medical marijuana laws, among others.
Heather Fazio, director of the Texas Cannabis Policy Center, has been tracking legislation in the state and applauded the introduction of HB 3242 by Moody, who was tapped by House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R) to serve as House speaker pro tempore.
“As a former prosecutor, Speaker Pro Tem Moody knows first-hand how cannabis arrests negatively impact the court system and derail the lives of peaceful cannabis consumers,” Fazio told Marijuana Moment in an email.
Moody sponsored a similar marijuana decriminalization bill last legislative session, in 2023. That measure, HB 218, passed the House on an 87–59 vote but later died in a Senate committee.
The House had already passed earlier cannabis decriminalization proposals during the two previous legislative sessions, in 2021 and 2019. But the efforts have consistently stalled in the Senate amid opposition from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), who presides over the chamber.
“Moody remains a stalwart champion of cannabis law reform,” Fazio said this week. “His House Bill 3242 would institute statewide decriminalization, freeing Texans from unreasonably harsh penalties and patchwork local policy.”
(Disclosure: Fazio supports Marijuana Moment’s work through a monthly pledge on Patreon.)
A similar measure, HB 1790, from Rep. John Bucy III (D), would also remove criminal penalties for possession of up to an ounce of marijuana. Further measures could also be introduced ahead of the legislature’s March 14 filing deadline.
Numerous Texas cities have already enacted local decriminalization laws in recent years—most recently Dallas, Lockhart and Bastrop. Late last year, Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Dallas effort, following up on similar suits against other jurisdictions, such as Austin, San Marcos, Killeen, Elgin and Denton.
State district judges dismissed two of the lawsuits—which argue that state law prohibiting marijuana preempts the local policies—in Austin and San Marcos. The city of Elgin reached a settlement, with the local government pointing out that decriminalization was never implemented there despite voter approval of the initiative.
Meanwhile Patrick and Sen. Charles Perry (R) are pushing for a ban on hemp cannabinoids, such as forms of THC, through the bill SB 3.
Patrick last year directed a Senate committee last year to examine issues around beverages containing THC and prepare legislation that would ban the sale of intoxicating hemp products.
The lieutenant governor recently emphasized a survey result showing that more than half (55 percent) of Texans want the state to rein its largely unregulated market for hemp-derived THC. But he simultaneously ignored the survey’s other findings: that even more Texans want the state to legalize and regulate marijuana for both medical and adult use.
The polling, from the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs, found that nearly 4 in 5 (79 percent) Texans support legalizing the sale and use of medical marijuana with a doctor’s recommendation, while more than 3 in 5 (62 percent) support legalizing and regulating an adult-use cannabis market.
Almost 7 in 10 (69 percent), meanwhile, said they think the state should decriminalize marijuana for personal use.
There is bipartisan support in the survey for each of the reforms.
What Patrick’s comments got right is that most Texans think laws around cannabis need to change: Only 22 percent of those surveyed favored keeping the state’s marijuana laws as they are.
Patrick has targeted hemp-derived THC repeatedly during his time in office, most recently by including legislation that would ban the products in his list of priority bills. And he endorsed past legislation that would ban all forms of consumable THC in the state.
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