Anyone who has wandered through the colorful wonderland that is Eeyore's Birthday Party or stood a little too close to Willie's tour bus knows that marijuana use is big business in Austin. The city's huge student population, sprawling music scene and Dazed & Confused vibe make it fertile ground for herbal remedies.
Wait, didn't I write that last year? Yes, I did. And I was about to write a new story about Texas' marijuana scene when I realized that, at least in Austin, not much has changed on the weed front. (Although there was some fake news about legalization.)
Of the four primary marijuana bills filed at the statehouse this year, only one has gotten a positive committee vote -- it has yet to get a full House vote. That proposed law would ease the law so no one with less than an ounce of grass would face arrest or jail time. Recreational marijuana like they have in Colorado, meanwhile, seems to be a pipe dream in Texas.
While Austin's laws haven't recently changed, Dallas city council members recently passed a law that decriminalizes possession, in a sense. Those caught with less than four ounces get a ticket and order to show up in court instead of arrested and booked in jail.
Texas lawmakers have brushed aside proposals to legalize marijuana for years. And, it wasn't until 2015 that the state passed a law allowing for very limited use of cannabis oils for people who have epilepsy and suffer from seizures.
Why does this matter? And why is a tech and startup news website bothering with it?
Well, for one, it's 4/20, the unofficial holiday for marijuana users. But it is also really, really big business. And there are a few Austin businesses already making money from it.
Illumitex, for example, provides highly-specialized and efficient LED lighting that is used in vertical vegetable farms and is also being used by several marijuana growing facilities in Colorado. Meanwhile, several other startups have also been considering ways to get a piece of the massive marijuana market, ranging from 3D food printing companies to pest control for growing facilities. Add to that, SXSW Interactive created panels to dive into the potential of the cannabis business. And there is even a Green Rush Meetup group where professionals talk about cannabis-related opportunities.
Texas only gets a taste of the potential revenue.
Even for non-marijuana businesses -- bars, for example -- the 4/20 stoner holiday has become an opportunity to throw parties and other celebrations. Oskar Blues, for example, is throwing a 4/20 party at 4:20 p.m. today at its brewery.
The health merits of marijuana are still questionable -- and vary widely depending on how often and in what format the ganja is used. Scientists and health professionals continue to study and debate the merits and risks of marijuana use.
For now, we continue the war on drugs in our state. The weed market is controlled by illegal dealers and patrolled by law enforcement and lawyers in Texas. The state is a pathway for ilicite trade. And it has also become a massive opportunity for entreprenuers.
As has been widely reported, Colorado drew more state revenue ($70 million) from recreational pot use in 2015 than it did from alcohol -- in fact, that pot tax almost doubled booze tax (in part because of the higher tax rates on marijuana). The cannabis industry was projected to become a $7.1 billion business in the United States 2016.
And that means a lot of opportunities that are just out of reach for Texas entreprenuers. Meanwhile, it is creating big businesses opportunities in four states (and Washington D.C.) that have legalized, ranging from on-demand startups in Washington D.C. to high tech vaporizers in Colorado.
Even Austin's hometown hero, Willie Nelson, has gotten in on the business, launching his branded smoke, Willie's Reserve, on 4/20 last year. But the company isn't based here -- it's in Colorado and Washington.
Texas, meanwhile, has snubbed out the issue each time it emerges.
One recent attempt for full-scale legalization featured an East Texas Republican who aligns with the tea party and argued that weed was made by God and should not be prohibited by the government. In a surprise to many, that bill made it out of a legislative committee, setting it up for a vote in the House. But Republican leaders never put the bill up for a vote.
It's almost certain to come up again, if not at the statehouse this spring, then perhaps again when the legislature reconvenes in 2019. Polls have shown that Texans are increasingly supportive of legalizing marijuana either in small amounts or across the board. And I suspect that level of support will increase as other states profit from legalization.
