Tagged: war on drugs

Similar to the bill mandating welfare recipients be screened for drugs, this bill mandates that Texans receiving unemployment benefits also be drug-tested.

Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, authored the bill that would force all unemployment applicants to go through a drug-screening process with a counselor from the Texas Workforce Commission.

On a unanimous vote, a bill authored by Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, to require all welfare recipients to take a drug test passed the Texas Senate. 

The bill requires every Texas Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipient go through a drug-screen, which could include a one-on-one interview or questionnaire.

Nelson said her bill also provides $300 million towards rehab.

Could marijuana possession soon be the equivalent of a traffic ticket? A Texas House member wants it that way. Current law dictates that anyone caught with under an ounce of marijuana is subject to being convicted of a class B misdemeanor which can equal jail time, but Democrat Rep. Harold Dutton of Houston would like to change that, dropping that criminal charge down to a Class C misdemeanor, which would be punishable by a fine similar to the average traffic ticket.

A former Guadalupe County Judge has pleaded guilty to a charge of marijuana possession, but the judge has a chance to get the verdict off his record.

Former Guadalupe County Judge Mike Wiggins entered the guilty plea last week, saying he was glad the ordeal is over. He was placed on six month deferred adjudication for the Class B Misdemeanor marijuana possession charge.