Pubdate: Sun, 28 Feb 2016
Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
Copyright: 2016 The Dallas Morning News, Inc.
Contact: http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/send-a-letter/
Website: http://www.dallasnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/117
Author: Marc Ramirez

NO GRASS AT CANNABIS CONFERENCE, BUT ATTENDEES STILL SEEING GREEN

Legalization's Coming, They Say, and So Are the Potential Opportunities

FORT WORTH - There was a day when you'd have been considered under 
the influence to think that Texas might ever legalize marijuana. 
Lawrence Jenkins/Special Contributor "the 'Green rush' is going to 
happen," said San Antonio lawyer Daniel Mehler, who stood out in a 
pot-leaf-patterned suit at the cannabis expo in Fort Worth.

But this weekend, an event dedicated to that very notion drifted into 
the Fort Worth Convention Center.

Some came to the Southwest Cannabis Conference and Expo to advocate 
for marijuana's medicinal use, while others sought business 
opportunities - from hemp-seed products and smoking paraphernalia to 
Uncle Bubba's Cann-A-Chili.

But they all shared a common focus: being ready for when - not if - 
Texas chooses to legalize the drug, rather than pursuing 
opportunities elsewhere.

In other words, the grass isn't necessarily greener on the other side anymore.

"It's going to be the next Internet," said San Antonio attorney 
Daniel Mehler, a former Colorado resident who wore a 
marijuana-leaf-patterned suit. "Texas needs to be ready. The 'Green 
Rush' is going to happen."

Organizers of the "natural health-wellness and alternative 
convention" said they expected between 4,000 and 6,000 attendees 
Saturday and Sunday, including industry reformers and entrepreneurs.

Celebrity advocates were also on hand: Keynote speaker Montel 
Williams was scheduled to speak Sunday, while former NFL stars Ricky 
Williams and Jim McMahon will be among the panelists for "Cannabis 
and Athletics," presented by the Gridiron Cannabis Coalition.

But the man most people wanted a picture with Saturday was Aaron 
Gutknecht, a statistics instructor at Tarrant County College and the 
man inside the green Big Bud mascot outfit.

"Statistics is my greatest weapon" in the fight to legalize 
marijuana, he said, particularly for medicinal use. "We at least need 
to get it to the people that need it."

Penalties for marijuana possession in Texas remain harsh. Even a drop 
of concentrate can lead to 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine, said 
Jax Finkel, executive director of Texas NORML, the Austin-based 
chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

But last month in Dallas, the majority of the City Council backed a 
six-month pilot program that would allow police to ticket people 
caught with marijuana instead of arresting them.

Under the "cite and release" program, officers would not jail the 
suspect, though his or her ultimate punishment would be decided by a judge.

But half-measures aren't enough for advocates like Romana Harrison of 
the Patient Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics. She said the group 
hopes to collect empty pill bottles from 1,000 military veterans by 
Veterans Day to urge Gov. Greg Abbott to consider legislation 
supporting medical marijuana.

"The Legislature told us vets would be the key," Harrison said. "It's 
hard to look at a three-term Iraqi vet and call him a slacker for using pot."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom