Highlights from our interview with Senator Jose Menendez, representing SD-26 (Bexar County).
Lone Star Standard: Senate State Affairs recently discussed Delta 8 and 9 bans. What is your position on that issue?
Menendez: That’s correct. I think the reality is that people need to know that whatever is available in the market is supposed to be limited in the amount of THC that it has in it. It’s not supposed to be over any sort of concentration. We didn’t legalize cannabis in any shape or form. But what has happened is that cannabis is sometimes indistinguishable even through lab work that there was an inadvertent or net effect of somehow making it legal. And, therefore, now there is a desire to push back and make everything illegal but I don’t think that is the right answer. I also don’t think that any kind of gummy of any kind that has any type of adverse effect should be available to children. I think these products, like alcohol, should be 21 and over and should be heavily regulated. One of the concerns I have is that without regulation, you don’t know exactly what is in these gummies or vapes, whether they have been the vehicle of this Delta 8 or 9 or 10. Without regulation, you really don’t know what you are getting. And I think it is critically important that we regulate this to determine what responsible adults are thinking that they’re getting and they actually get what they believe they’re getting.
Lone Star Standard: What is your position the discussions in committee about social media and protecting children?
Menendez: Look, young people are getting access to the internet and on these phones and social media at a younger and younger age. I, obviously, didn’t have a smartphone until they came out and I was way out of college. But the point is, even our children, it was probably high school or later that they had access. But now it’s young kids. It’s middle school for sure and sometimes even elementary. And you see these little children on iPads and iPHones. You see their faces glued to these things. We need to do a better job of making sure that we can help parents police what is coming through that device to their children. I’m worried about it. I’ve worked on legislation that addresses cyberbullying. You are much younger than I am, but when I left school when I was growing up, we left our bully at school. You went home and had a safe space. You had your mom and dad. Your mom was there. Maybe your dad got home eventually. You had your friends in the neighborhood and you did things. Maybe you ride your bike, played something, did your homework, but it wasn’t like you were continuously glued to a device that brought your bully into your house. You weren’t constantly living with people criticizing you and making you feel like you just didn’t live up to the norms or expectations.
Lone Star Standard: Would you support banning cell phones in Texas schools?
Menendez: I don’t know just yet. And I’ll tell you why. Every parent, when they’re dropping their child off says: ‘hey, text me when you get out or text me this.” We’re used to being able to communicate with our kids instantly. And many of us, we hear of some tragedy occurring. And in that moment, we want to know our kids are okay. And so I think it would be really hard, probably harder on the parents, to know that they couldn’t get in touch with their children right away. I can’t speak for everyone, but I think so. One of the things that I think is that we try to find a common sense, common ground that we could achieve. And maybe we could say, when you come into the classroom, your phone goes in a cubby with your name or your number or you’re assigned desk and the phone goes in there so you don’t have your phone while you’re in class so you can pay attention. But the moment you’re in between classes, you grab your phone and go to your next class. So, if you look at your phone, mom, dad texted you something, a question or you texted them, ‘hey, I forgot my shoes for practice. I forgot my shorts for P.E. I have last period and I don’t want to get in trouble.’ You could still get that message out. And so there are things that sometimes happen and I just think that maybe that’s the better way. At some point the kids can access social media during the day. Is it better to limit their time on devices? Yes, I agree but I’m not sure if 100% banning them in the schools is the best way.
Lone Star Standard: What will you be looking to accomplish in the upcoming legislative session?
Menendez: Well, there’s a lot and it’s hard. I’m a little frustrated that this last hurricane exposed the fact that we have not done enough to create an electrical grid in Texas that is truly resilient. And it’s truly sustainable. I think it was a Level 1 hurricane, you know. God forbid that we get hit with a 2 or 3 or 4 level in the future and what would happen. I think that, as a state, we need to make investments in our basic infrastructure. And, so, when we talk about infrastructure, typically everybody thinks of the most basic terms - clean water, reliable power, clean air, and good roads. But, people also need to think about the fact that one of the most fundamental infrastructures for a healthy democracy is a good, public education system. Neighborhood based educational system, because that is what our founding fathers recognized that children must have. And that’s why it’s in our Constitution. That one of the demands our founding fathers put on us as a state that we must create a system of great public education, and create a public education system that is equitable and allows all Texans, regardless of what neighborhood they’re born, to have the possibility to achieve whatever their God given potential is.
Senator Jose Menendez of Texas Senate District 26 in Bexar County, joins the show to discuss Interim Hearings in the Texas Legislature. The discussion includes a potential ban on Delta 8 and 9 products, social media and children, catching kids up in education, and more. This interview transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
Listen to the full discussion here: https://texas-talks.simplecast.com/episodes/ep-30-jose-menendez.
