At a crowded rally in downtown Austin, ticked off his usual laundry list of campaign promises: stabilizing the power grid, rolling back the state鈥檚 new permitless carry law and expanding health care access.
But the El Paso Democrat got some of the loudest cheers of the night when he promised to legalize marijuana in Texas, something he said 鈥渕ost of us, regardless of party, actually agree on.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檝e been warned that this may or may not be a popular thing to say in Austin, Texas,鈥� O鈥橰ourke said to the crowd gathered in Republic Square Park in December. 鈥淏ut when I am governor, we are going to legalize marijuana.鈥�
The support is nothing new for the gubernatorial candidate. O鈥橰ourke has championed legalization efforts throughout his political career, ever since his time as a member of the El Paso city council. He also nodded at the policy throughout his failed campaigns for U.S. Senate and for president.
But in his early run for governor, O鈥橰ourke, who declined to be interviewed for this story, has repeatedly mentioned legalizing marijuana on the campaign trail across Texas. Advocates hope the increased attention will give momentum to legalization efforts in a state with some of the harshest penalties and highest arrest rates for marijuana possession.
O鈥橰ourke鈥檚 advocacy around the issue dates back at least to his time on the El Paso City Council in 2009 when he pushed for a resolution calling on Congress to have 鈥渁n honest, open national debate on ending the prohibition鈥� of marijuana.
Despite unanimously passing the city council, then-Mayor John Cook vetoed the nonbinding measure. Cook got some help from then-U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, who warned council members the city could lose federal funds if they continued with their effort.
O鈥橰ourke went on to challenge and defeat Reyes in the 2012 Democratic primary for his congressional seat. During that race, Reyes released an on marijuana legalization.
鈥淟egalizing drugs is not the answer. Even our children understand that,鈥� a narrator said in a video campaign ad that showed children shaking their heads. 鈥淪ay NO to Drugs. Say NO to Beto.鈥�
While O鈥橰ourke did not campaign on the policy throughout that race, advocates at the time pointed to his victory as a sign of the changing attitudes around marijuana legalization.
O鈥橰ourke鈥檚 viewpoint is influenced by his hometown of El Paso, which he writes about extensively in his 2011 book 鈥淒ealing Death and Drugs: The Big Business of Dope in the U.S. and Mexico,鈥� co-written with fellow City Council member Susie Byrd.
For 15 years before 2008, there was an average of 236 murders per year in Ciudad Ju谩rez, the sister city of El Paso, O鈥橰ourke wrote. That number rose to 316 in 2007 before skyrocketing to 1,623 in 2008. There was a 鈥減ernicious influence,鈥� O鈥橰ourke wrote: the 鈥渕ultibillion dollar hemispheric vice between supply and demand,鈥� where 鈥淣orth America consumes illegal drugs鈥� and 鈥淢exico supplies them.鈥�
The book draws a correlation between government crackdowns on the illicit trade and the number of murders. By regulating, controlling and taxing the marijuana market, O鈥橰ourke and Byrd posit the U.S. could save lives. The authors call for restricting sales to adults, providing licenses to help regulate, limiting smoking to nonpublic spaces and prohibiting advertisers from appealing to children.
Once in Congress, O鈥橰ourke efforts to roll back federal marijuana regulations 鈥� to no avail.
In 2017, he a bill repealing a rule that prevented federal funds from going to states that don鈥檛 enforce a law revoking or suspending drivers鈥� licenses over drug offense convictions. He supported to protect states who had legalized the drug from federal incursion. O鈥橰ourke sought to for nonviolent offenses involving marijuana. He that would allow students convicted of marijuana possession to maintain their eligibility for federal aid. He also supported various measures to into and of medical cannabis, .
None of those bills became law.
If O鈥橰ourke becomes governor, his plans to legalize marijuana would face another set of hurdles in the form of the Texas Legislature, particularly Lt. Gov. , who leads the state Senate.
After the House in April 2019 gave preliminary approval to a bill that would have for Texans possessing small amounts of marijuana, Patrick declared the measure dead in the Senate.
There鈥檚 been some momentum for more progressive marijuana policies within Patrick鈥檚 party in recent sessions. In 2019, state Rep. , R-Fort Worth, and state Sen. , R-New Braunfels, filed bills that would relax laws restricting medical cannabis access. Both of those reforms failed to become law. But Gov. in May did to include people with cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Patrick did not comment for this story. In a to The Texas Tribune, a Patrick spokesperson said the lieutenant governor is 鈥渟trongly opposed to weakening any laws against marijuana [and] remains wary of the various medicinal use proposals that could become a vehicle for expanding access to this drug.鈥�
Abbott didn鈥檛 answer questions on his position regarding marijuana legalization.
Legalization advocates hope O鈥橰ourke鈥檚 candidacy can move opinions among state leaders on relaxing marijuana restrictions.
鈥淗opefully with Beto O鈥橰ourke presumably being the Democratic nominee, we can push the other candidates in the race to talk about this issue more, to come to the table and have a conversation about how these policies are having negative impacts on our state,鈥� said Heather Fazio, director of Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy.
Marijuana legalization draws some broad support across the state. According to a , 60% of Texas voters say at least a small amount of marijuana should be legal. That figure includes 73% of Democrats, 74% of independents and 43% of Republicans.
Mike Siegel, the co-founder of Ground Game Texas, a nonprofit focused on supporting progressive policies around 鈥渨orkers, wages, and weed,鈥� said the issue is an opportunity for O鈥橰ourke to reach independent or nonaligned voters.
鈥淸Marijuana policy] is a major opportunity for [O鈥橰ourke] to reach out to middle of the road, independent or nonaligned voters and even some Republican voters,鈥� Siegel said. 鈥淎 governor's race that's high-profile like the one that is coming up, where it could be Beto O鈥橰ourke versus Greg Abbott, that鈥檚 the best opportunity to push these populist wedge issues.鈥�
But Joshua Blank, research director for the Texas Politics Project at UT-Austin, said marijuana legalization isn鈥檛 a 鈥渢erribly important issue鈥� for voters on its own. Its political salience depends on the issues tied to the policy, he said, whether that is the economy, criminal justice system or health care.
Advocates for legalization tie the issue to racial justice. In his 2011 book, O鈥橰ourke linked the drug鈥檚 prohibition in the early 20th century to racist fears of Mexican immigrants. Advocates today highlight the racial disparities in existing law鈥檚 enforcement. Black Texans are 2.6 times more likely than white Texans to be arrested for marijuana possession, according to an . In 2018, Texas had the highest total number of marijuana possession arrests in the country, according to the report, which found the state ranks 41st for largest racial disparities in such arrests.
State Rep. , D-El Paso, who served as political director on O鈥橰ourke鈥檚 2018 campaign, said the tide is turning on policies relating to cannabis enforcement. For example, House Speaker , R-Beaumont, co-authored the 2019 that would have before Patrick killed it.
鈥淎 Gov. O鈥橰ourke would certainly turn that tide a lot quicker because of his position on these issues. But ultimately, to get something to the governor鈥檚 desk, you鈥檝e got to get it through the Senate,鈥� Moody said. 鈥淥ur focus has to be on changing hearts and minds in the Senate.鈥�
Moody would know something about changing opinions. Now one of the Legislature鈥檚 biggest proponents of reducing penalties for marjiuana charges, he said he disagreed with O鈥橰ourke鈥檚 position on marijuana a decade ago. Overhauling American drug policy wasn鈥檛 going to 鈥渇lip the switch on violence,鈥� he said of his feelings at the time. But he said he鈥檚 since grown 鈥渕uch more comfortable鈥� with the idea that legalization is 鈥渁 major piece of the puzzle.鈥�
O鈥橰ourke was 鈥渁head of the curve鈥� on marijuana legalization, Moody said, a quality he added the public should seek from their leaders.
For Moody, El Paso 鈥� which became usage in 1915 鈥� is the place to lead that charge.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e going to right the wrong, if you think this is a scourge on our system, and it began here, then let鈥檚 let it end here. Let鈥檚 lead the way to end it,鈥� Moody said. 鈥淭hat certainly is something that weighs heavily on my mind and on my shoulders when I work on this policy, and I imagine it鈥檚 the same for [O鈥橰ourke].鈥�
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