Marijuana protestors push to legalize drug

Students protested the prohibition of marijuana on Tuesday in the hopes of gaining support for the legalization of medical marijuana in Texas.


During the protest, students spoke in favor of the five house bills, HR 698, 501, 499, 710 and 784, which all aim to end marijuana prohibition.


Junior Luke Masters, a student speaker, said marijuana prohibition is a huge stifle on the economy because of the number of people put in prisons for possession.


“I am for ending the prohibition of medical marijuana,” Masters said. “It is not a harmful drug by any means. There is no real reason for it at all. The government can make huge money on it by capitalizing on the taxes and ending the drug war on it.”


Freshman Pedro Ramirez said he has gone to jail twice for marijuana possession.


“There was a survey while I was in jail that showed 80 percent of us that were there were there because of small marijuana possessions,” Ramirez said.


Freshman Linda Warren said marijuana is a natural medicine that people can use to treat themselves, and that people should have access to this plant without it being criminalized.


“When my mother was dying from pancreatic cancer, she begged me to get her medical marijuana because the opiates [commonly prescribed for pain] did not work,” Warren said. “My daughter died from cystic fibrosis and could not use opiates because it would diffuse her respiratory system.”


During the protest, students signed two petitions to forward the house bills which will be sent to Texas Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn.