Texas to Decriminalize Marijuana & UCLA's AR Sandbox

Texas to Decriminalize Marijuana & UCLA's AR Sandbox

Every Friday, I write a new edition of 'Media with Meaning'. Today's contains:

  • Good News: Texas to decriminalize Marijuana
  • Visualization: UCLA's AR Topography Sandbox

I hope you get as much out of reading this as I did creating it.

Texas House Passes Bill to Decriminalize Marijuana

Texas has recently passed a bill to decriminalize possession of less than one ounce of marijuana. This legislation also reduces penalties for possessing 1 - 2 ounces to a class B misdemeanor, and possession of 2 - 4 ounces to a class A misdemeanor. How these possession amounts and associated penalties were ever decided upon is beyond me. Maybe lawmakers just shared a joint one day and said ‘That sounds about right’.?

Annual marijuana arrests have been on a steady decline since 2018.

No alt text provided for this image
Annual Marijuana Arrests - via Norml.org

You’ll notice that 2021 possession arrest figures were down to nearly one-third from that of 2018. This is largely due to individual districts, like Harris County and others passing similar laws in previous years. However, this is the first state-wide legislation of its kind.?

The effects of these arrests are multi-pronged. First and foremost, these arrests leave a stain on the resume of these ‘violators’ for an otherwise victimless crime. This makes it much harder for these individuals to be taken seriously by potential employers, and often leads to them taking on suboptimal careers as a result.? Not to mention the financial burden it places upon them in addition.?

Furthermore, Texas taxpayers spend hundreds of millions of dollars putting these ‘criminals’ through the legal system, as well as subsidizing law enforcement, state prosecutors, and other government-funded workers with the extra time & effort that these arrests entail.?

Visualization: UCLA's AR Topography Sandbox

I came across this video on Youtube and thought it was the perfect visualization for this week’s newsletter.?

UCLA’s AR (Augmented Reality) sandbox was designed to help students take a hands-on approach to topography. As students manipulate the sand, the topography completely changes to show the relationship between land and associated conditions. Students can even make it ‘rain’ in order to see how water flows as they change the landscape.?

This is the sort of stuff that actually makes learning engaging, effective, and most of all FUN.?

Thank you for reading this week's edition of Media With Meaning. For more creative inspiration, thought-provoking content and all things marketing and advertising,?give me a follow on LinkedIn?and check out our agency’s work at the link in my bio.?

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