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The November 2016 elections brought significant changes to drug policies in Houston and Harris County, particularly with regard to marijuana, and may lead to changes in other major Texas cities.
Dean Becker, a Drug Policy Program contributing expert and host of radio programs aired on more than 70 stations throughout the nation, interviewed principal figures involved in these changes, both before and after the election.
MP3 recordings and transcripts of these interviews, along with hundreds of others gathered over 15 years, are available on the Drug Truth Archive on the Drug Policy Program website. The following are of particular interest:
- 06/16/16: Kim Ogg (pictured above) discusses plans for reform if she is elected to be the Harris County District Attorney, which she was. http://www.bakerinstitute.org/media/files/page/d5bc9633/FDBCB_061016.txt
- 08/26/16: U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas, and Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez
http://www.bakerinstitute.org/media/files/files/dc104b02/FDBCB_082616.txt
- 12/30/16: Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo
http://www.bakerinstitute.org/media/files/files/5fb8ad52/FDBCB_123016.txt
- 02/17/17: District Attorney Kim Ogg with Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, and state Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, author of House Bill 81, a marijuana decriminalization bill under consideration during the 2017 session of the Texas Legislature.
http://www.bakerinstitute.org/media/files/files/e642bbf7/FDBCB_021717.txt