Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Wednesday filed lawsuits against five cities that have passed marijuana decriminalization measures. The legal action was filed against the cities of Austin, San Marcos, Killeen, Elgin, and Denton “for adopting amnesty and non-prosecution policies that violate Texas laws concerning marijuana possession and distribution,” according to the attorney general’s office.

In 2022, the five cities each adopted ordinances or civic policies that instruct police officers not to enforce state laws prohibiting the possession or distribution of cannabis. After filing the lawsuits this week, Paxton said that such policies are prohibited by the Texas Local Government Code, which bars municipal and county governments from adopting “a policy under which the entity will not fully enforce laws relating to drugs.”

“I will not stand idly by as cities run by pro-crime extremists deliberately violate Texas law and promote the use of illicit drugs that harm our communities,” Paxton said in a statement on Wednesday. “This unconstitutional action by municipalities demonstrates why Texas must have a law to ‘follow the law.’ It’s quite simple: the legislature passes every law after a full debate on the issues, and we don’t allow cities the ability to create anarchy by picking and choosing the laws they enforce.”

The attorney general also noted that under Article 9, Section 5 of the Texas Constitution, it is illegal for municipalities to adopt ordinances that are not consistent with the laws enacted by the Texas Legislature. With the lawsuit, Paxton has asked the district court to overturn the city ordinances and instruct local officials to enforce state law.

Progressive Leaders Push Back

Julie Oliver, executive director for Ground Game Texas, a group that works to advance progressive issues including local marijuana decriminalization ballot measures, said that the attorney general’s legal action seeks to undermine the right of Texans to govern themselves at the local level.

“Ken Paxton’s lawsuits represent an anti-democratic assault on the constitutional authority of Texas Home Rule cities to set local law enforcement priorities,” Oliver told local media. “In each of the cities sued, a supermajority of voters adopted a policy to deprioritize marijuana enforcement in order to reduce racially biased law enforcement outcomes and save scarce public resources for higher priority public safety needs.”

In Denton, a city of about 140,000 people in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, voters passed an initiative to decriminalize misdemeanor marijuana offenses in November 2022. The ballot measure received the approval of more than 32,000 votes and the election marked the highest voter turnout recorded in the city’s history.

“This ordinance has now received more votes than any council member or mayor in the history of Denton,” Nick Stevens from Decriminalize Denton, a grassroots organization behind the ordinance, told the Denton Record-Chronicle after the election in 2022. “We’re ecstatic that Republicans, Democrats and independents came together to reclaim their power in the city.”

Denton’s marijuana decriminalization policy, however, has not yet been fully implemented and the city’s police have still been issuing citations for misdemeanor marijuana offenses. In June, the Denton City Council considered an ordinance that advocates said would have strengthened the measure approved by voters but voted 4-3 against the proposal.

New Law Restricts Local Control

The attorney general’s lawsuit is partly based on HB 2127, a bill passed last year that restricts so-called home rule authority. Attorneys for cities including Denton, San Antonio, Waco and Plano that filed suit against the law last year explained that home rule allows local governments “to create policies that address local concerns that vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction based on many factors such as demographics, population density, environmental concerns and public safety issues.”

But Stevens said that HB 2127 does not cover the city marijuana decriminalization measures because it states that it only applies to municipal or county codes involving agriculture, finance, insurance, labor, natural resources and occupations.

“Ken Paxton should read this law before wasting Texans’ tax dollars with another frivolous lawsuit that distracts from the work we have done to deliver for the people of Denton,” Stevens said.

Ground Game Texas is currently sponsoring a campaign to decriminalize marijuana in Dallas. Known as the Dallas Freedom Act, the measure would end most arrests and citations for Class A and Class B misdemeanor marijuana possession. The proposed ordinance, which is similar to the one passed in Denton, would also require city leaders to report on cannabis enforcement and forbid the use of city funds for laboratory testing to distinguish hemp from marijuana.

“The Dallas Freedom Act is a dynamic initiative that will reduce unnecessary arrests, address racial disparities in marijuana enforcement, and save millions of dollars in city and county resources for much-needed public safety programs,” Tristeza Ordex, campaign manager of Ground Game Texas, said in a statement about the proposal.

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Texas is now accepting applications as it looks to increase the number of licensed medical cannabis dispensaries, a state agency announced on Monday.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said that it is now taking applications for the so-called Compassionate Use Program (CUP), which was established by the 2015 law that legalized medical marijuana treatment in the state. 

The department said that the application period will close on April 28, and that applicants who have previously applied may reapply. 

“An announcement detailing the process for application acceptance and the subsequent approval process to issue additional licenses will be made at a later date. The department will issue only the number of licenses necessary to ensure reasonable statewide access to, and the availability of, low-THC cannabis for patients registered in the compassionate-use registry,” the Department of Public Safety said in the announcement on Monday.

Those additional licenses are needed in Texas, where the medical cannabis program has been encumbered by legal obstacles. 

According to the Dallas Morning News, only “three dispensaries have been licensed in Texas in the past three years.”

The law that was passed in 2015, the newspaper said, “was highly restrictive in the conditions it covered and how much THC, the element that gives marijuana users a high, was allowed.”

“The Legislature expanded the list of conditions that could be treated under the Compassionate Use Program a few years later. But even then, some advocates believe the program is too selective of the conditions that are allowed and are hoping the Legislature will pass expansion legislation this year,” the Dallas Morning News reported.

“The three dispensaries now open are all in central Texas, with two in Austin and one in Schulenberg, about 100 miles west of San Antonio. With only three dispensaries that can provide cannabidiol that is low in THC, some advocates are frustrated that there is not enough supply to meet demand,” the Morning News continued.

In 2021, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill into law that made patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and all types of cancer eligible for the Compassionate Use Program, and also raised the cap on THC from .5 percent to one percent by dry weight.

Advocates lamented that the bill was still too restrictive; for example, an earlier version of the legislation would have raised the THC cap to five percent. 

Republican state Sen. Charles Schwertner, however, introduced a replacement measure that capped the limit at one percent.

““As a pharmacist and as a physician, I feel strongly that our limited medical program, with appropriate rules and oversight, is the right path for patients in Texas seeking symptom relief,” Schwertner said at the time. “I believe the evidence is starting to show that. I believe there needs to be further work, but certainly, the testimony is very strong by patients who are suffering from some of these conditions.”

Recreational cannabis remains illegal in the Lone Star State, although there is reason to believe that Texans are ready to embrace legalization.

A poll released last summer found that a 55% of registered voters in Texas support the legalization of cannabis for adults, while 35% said they were opposed.

Abbott, however, is not yet on board with legalization.

A Republican who won re-election last year, Abbott “has previously expressed interest in reducing the criminal penalty for marijuana possession to a Class C misdemeanor, but not legalizing the drug,” according to the Houston Chronicle.

Following President Joe Biden’s pardon of federal marijuana offenders last year, a spokesperson for Abbott said that the governor would not be following the White House’s lead.

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This could be a big year for Texas, as there are currently five different decriminalization measures on November ballots from five different cities. It appears that, even though progress is happening slowly, this will be a big year for decriminalization across the super-sized state. 

Last week, activists in Harker Heights with the progressive group Ground Game Texas announced that they have collected enough signatures for a decriminalization measure on their local ballot, making them the fifth city to do so in Texas thus far. All of these cities will be following in the footsteps of Austin, a city that has successfully passed decriminalization. 

In order to be on the ballot in Harker Heights, advocates needed signatures from more than 25% of registered voters, and they exceeded their goal.

“Following the success of Prop A in Austin and the recent securing of ballot initiatives in Killeen and San Marcos, Ground Game Texas is proud to give Harker Heights residents the opportunity to decriminalize marijuana,” Julie Oliver, the organization’s executive director, claimed, according to a press release. “Ground Game Texas continues to demonstrate that popular policies around issues like workers, wages, and weed can help expand and electrify the electorate in Texas when they’re put directly in front of voters.”

The goal with the Harker Heights Freedom Act is to ensure that “police officers shall not issue citations or make arrests for Class A or Class B misdemeanor possession of marijuana offenses,” except in certain circumstances such as a violent felony or a felony-level narcotics case that has been “designated as a high priority investigation” by the police. In other words, the goal is to only focus on high-level drug trafficking, not regular folks using cannabis.

If this measure passes, it would also ensure that police can’t give out citations to folks who simply have resonated or otherwise used paraphernalia. This will keep the system clear of those who either have small amounts of cannabis or simply a used pipe. 

In order for this measure to become a reality, city officials will still need to formally authorize the signatures and ensure they are all valid before the measure makes it onto the ballot. This initiative is just one in a broader effort to enact cannabis policy reform one city at a time, since currently in Texas, there is no process to add this to the ballot statewide. 

In the past, Austin proved that this process can work when the city approved a ballot measure to decriminalize cannabis. It also banned no-knock warrants by police in general, all thanks to the work from Ground Game Texas. 

The group also works with Mano Amiga, a criminal justice reform group committed to freeing cannabis customers. They worked with them to make sure there were more than enough signatures to get decriminalization on the ballot in San Marcos as well, continuing the reform sweep across the state. 

Also, in May, Ground Game Texas reported that activists got enough signatures to put decriminalization on the ballot for Killeen too. Similarly, activists have collected enough signatures in Denton as well, and once they are verified, hope to also get that added to the ballot. Lastly, signature collectors have also collected enough signatures in Elgin. 

In each of these cities, local officials on city councils are also able to enact these proposals as municipal law instead of ballot measures, meaning legalization could spread even faster.

As Texas continues to take on decriminalization the slow way, one city at a time, hearts and minds are changing and the overall conversation of legalization is getting closer to become a reality nationwide. 

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This week: Four top tips for mental health upkeep.

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Voters in Austin, Texas over the weekend approved a ballot proposition that decriminalized cannabis and prohibited the practice of “no-knock warrants” by police. 

A little more than 85% of voters on Saturday approved Proposition A, according to local television station KXAN, which said that the measure will “formalize a city policy put in place in 2020, when then-police chief Brian Manley announced his officers would no longer cite or arrest those accused of misdemeanor pot offenses.” That change in policy came as a result of a unanimous vote by the Austin City Council at the time, KXAN reported. 

Per local TV station KVUE, the measure does not legalize cannabis in Austin, but “ultimately forbids police officers from ticketing and arresting people on low-level marijuana offenses, like possession of small amounts of weed or related paraphernalia, unless tied to a more severe crime.” Additionally, the city “would also not pay to test substances suspected to be marijuana, which is an important step in substantiating drug charges,” according to the station. 

Under the newly passed ordinance, cops in Austin “will not be allowed to issue citations for most Class A or Class B misdemeanor possession offenses,” according to KVUE.

“In Texas, a Class A misdemeanor is possession of 4 ounces or less but more than 2 ounces. A Class B misdemeanor is possession of 2 ounces or less,” according to the station, which said the ordinance takes effect immediately. 

The ordinance, as written, says that Austin police officers will only be permitted to issue citations or make arrests for such Class A or B misdemeanors if it is part of “the investigation of a felony level narcotics case that has been designated as a high priority investigation by an Austin police commander, assistant chief of police, or chief of police,” or if it is part of an investigation of a violent felony.

The new local ordinance is the result of efforts by a group called Ground Game Texas, which led the campaign to get Proposition A on the Austin ballot this year. 

In January, the Austin City Council approved the ballot proposal for the city’s special election that was held on May 7. 

Ground Game Texas collected more than 33,000 signatures––well above the necessary threshold of 20,000 signatures––from Austin voters in order for the measure to qualify for the special election ballot. 

The group celebrated Saturday’s resounding victory, saying that it serves as evidence that voters in the Lone Star State are ready for cannabis reform.

“This lays down an extremely clear marker for the rest of Texas that one, this is something that’s possible. That a city can decide to end marijuana enforcement,” said Ground Game Texas co-founder Mike Siegel, as quoted by Texas public radio station KUT. “And two, that it’s extremely popular.”

The station reported that Ground Game Texas is currently “working on similar ballot items in other Central Texas cities, including San Marcos and Elgin.”

Medical cannabis is legal in Texas, but recreational pot use for adults is not. 

Last year, Republican Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill into law that expanded the number of qualifying conditions for medical cannabis treatment in the state.

Abbott is up for re-election this year, and there are signs that cannabis legalization could emerge as a major issue in the campaign. The incumbent’s Democratic challenger, Beto O’Rourke, has repeatedly voiced his support for ending the prohibition on pot throughout the race.

“Legalizing marijuana is the right thing to do. We can stop locking Texans up for a substance that’s legal in much of the rest of the country and allow police to focus on violent crime. And it’ll bring in nearly $1 billion a year in new state revenue and taxpayer savings,” O’Rourke said on Twitter in January.

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On May 7, Austin, Texas, residents voted by huge margins to both decriminalize marijuana and ban no-knock police warrants.

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Officials in Austin, Texas have officially given the green light to a cannabis decriminalization initiative now set to appear in an upcoming ballot.

On January 18, the Austin City Council in Texas voted to allow the ballot initiative known as the “Austin Freedom Act of 2021” on the upcoming special election on May 7. The Act will stop local law enforcement from convicting residents of low-level cannabis offenses, and will prohibit “no knock” warrants by police as well.

The initiative is supported by an organization called Ground Game Texas (GGT). “Thanks to the tireless efforts of the on-the-ground organizers from Ground Game Texas and partner organizations, Austin residents will soon have the ability to make lasting change to our antiquated and racist criminal justice laws,” said Ground Game Texas Political Director Mike Siegel when the organization first received approval from the City Clerk in December 2021. “With successful campaigns like these, Ground Game Texas will continue to empower and excite communities around progressive change—and deliver for the marginalized communities that too often get left behind.”

The group collected 33,332 signatures, although only 20,000 was necessary. State law requires that 25 percent of randomly selected signatures needs to be verified, which came up to 8,334 of the signatures. Of those, 2,455 were disqualified (due to duplicates, missing signature or other reasons), but the remaining 5,879 passed the test.

Further celebration was in order when GGT received news that their petition was approved on January 10, followed by the city council’s approval on January 18.

“It’s official! Austin will hold an election May 7, 2022 on the Austin Freedom Act. Voters will be able to pass a new city law that (1) ends enforcement of marijuana possession and (2) bans dangerous ‘no knock’ warrants. Thank you to everyone who got us this far—now let’s win!” the organization wrote on Twitter. GGT also proceeded to share information on how local advocates can volunteer their time to support the cause as it begins to fight for decriminalization in other cities across Texas.

The Austin Police Department originally announced the end of cannabis convictions back in 2020, stating that citations would only be given “unless there is an immediate threat to a person’s safety or doing so is part of the investigation of a high priority, felony-level narcotics case or the investigation of a violent felony,” according to KVUE. The Austin Freedom Act of 2021 makes decriminalization official, stating that if passed by voters, Class A or Class B possession offenses would not be issued by law enforcement unless the situation involves a high priority “felony level narcotics case” or “investigation of a violent felony.”

Furthermore, if passed, the Act would ban “no knock” warrants. “’No knock’ search warrants shall not be used. No Austin police officer may request, execute, or participate in the execution of any search warrant that does not require the officer to knock and announce their presence and wait at least 15 seconds prior to execution.”

Only medical cannabis is legal in the state of Texas. The medical cannabis program was recently updated in July 2021 when Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 1535 into law. This expanded to include post-traumatic stress disorder and all types of cancer as qualifying conditions to register in the state’s medical cannabis program. It also raised the THC limitation from 0.5 percent THC to “one percent by dry weight.”

Recently, the topic of smokable hemp reached the Texas Supreme Court in early January, which effectively challenged the ban. Presiding judge Lora Livingston ruled that banning smokable hemp is unconstitutional, and issued a permanent injunction preventing the Texas Department of Health Services from enforcing it.

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