Texas Activists Campaign For Local Cannabis Decriminalization Laws
- 1. City council may preemptively decriminalize pot
- 2. Growing decriminalization trend
- 3. Texas gop opposition to decriminalizing pot
Cannabis policy reform activists in Dallas recently turned in petitions with nearly 50,000 signatures to put an initiative to locally decriminalize marijuana on the ballot for the 2024 general election. The decriminalization campaign, spearheaded by the nonprofit group Ground Game Texas, continues the efforts in cities and towns across the Lone Star State to end the criminal prohibition of cannabis that has persisted for nearly a century. The group launched the Dallas cannabis decriminalization initiative campaign signature drive in January that culminated in June with the delivery of the signatures to city hall.
“Y’all, we did it! We just dropped off 50,000 signatures with the city of Dallas to get Marijuana Decriminalization on the ballot this November!” Ground Game Texas wrote in a June 24 Facebook post. “This incredible milestone couldn’t have been achieved without the relentless efforts of our amazing workers, volunteers, supporters, and the entire Dallas community. Let’s keep the momentum going and make history together.”
If the signatures are verified, the marijuana decriminalization measure, known as the Dallas Freedom Act, will appear on the ballot for the November general election. If voters approve the initiative, it will decriminalize possession of up to four ounces of cannabis within the city limits of Dallas.
Ground Game Texas reported that a demographic analysis of the signatures gathered to place the decriminalization measure on the ballot shows that a majority of the signers are Black or Latino voters aged 49 and younger. The group also maintained that cannabis policy reform is a matter of racial justice, noting that Black people in Dallas, who make up about a quarter of the city’s population, represent about half of the city’s arrests for marijuana possession.
“The Dallas Freedom Act is just that—it’s part of a larger movement that rejects division, creates the change we all deserve, and in true Texan spirit, unapologetically demands it now,” Ground Game Texas Executive Director Catina Voellinger said in a press release from the group. “From our signatures on the petition to our collective votes on the ballot, this is our power, our voice, our moral receipt—this is our Texas movement.”
City Council May Preemptively Decriminalize Pot
Although Ground Game Texas has apparently collected far more than the 35,000 signatures needed to place the marijuana decriminalization initiative on the November ballot, some members of the Dallas City Council are leading an effort to make the change through a local ordinance. Councilmember Chad West said that if the council approves the measure, it will save the city the cost of having the petition signatures verified before the proposal can be put on the ballot.
If the decriminalization initiative is adopted by the council or approved at the ballot box, it would prevent Dallas police officers from making arrests or issuing citations for Class A or B misdemeanor cannabis possession offenses, unless the charge is part of a high priority felony investigation for a violent crime or narcotics offense. The proposal also specifies that “Dallas police shall not consider the odor of marijuana or hemp to constitute probable cause for any search or seizure.”
Tristeza Ordex, Ground Game Texas campaign manager, said that “having this on the ballot is important to me because I think about the many ways that a run-in with the police can affect my life.”
“Many veterans fall into the criminal justice system because of minor possession charges,” she said. “As a USMC veteran and someone who struggles with PTSD and anxiety, marijuana has been key in my ability to manage my mental health.”
The Dallas Freedom Act also requires the city manager and the chief of police to submit quarterly reports on the implementation of the decriminalization policy. They would also be required to provide the city council with information about any marijuana possession arrests made or citations issued by the city.
Growing Decriminalization Trend
The effort to decriminalize cannabis in Dallas is part of a larger trend of Texas activists working to effect marijuana regulatory policy at the local level. The cities of Austin, Denton, Elgin, Harker Heights, Killeen and San Marcos have already enacted new laws to decriminalize cannabis within their respective city limits. Similar to the Dallas initiative, the new ordinances prevent police officers from making arrests or issuing citations for Class A or Class B marijuana possession, unless the charges are part of a larger felony investigation into narcotics violations or violent crimes. In the city of Lockhart, Texas, activists submitted petitions in May 2024 with what they say are more than enough signatures to place a cannabis decriminalization measure on the local ballot.
But not all efforts to adopt policies to decriminalize marijuana at the local level in Texas have met with success. In the city of Lubbock, voters soundly rejected a May 2024 ballot measure that would have decriminalized possession of small amounts of weed within the city limits, with 65% of the electorate casting ballots against the measure. A 2023 ballot measure that would have decriminalized possession of cannabis was also rejected by voters in San Antonio, the state’s second-largest city by population, although the initiative also contained provisions to prevent enforcement of laws that criminalize abortion, suggesting it may not be a true test of the electorate’s views on decriminalizing marijuana.
Texas GOP Opposition To Decriminalizing Pot
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott opposes the efforts to decriminalize marijuana at the local level in communities across Texas and issued a statement maintaining that local governments do not have the power to override state drug laws.
“Local communities such as towns, cities and counties, they don’t have the authority to override state law,” the governor said in May 2024. “If they want to see a different law passed, they need to work with their legislators. Let’s legislate to work to make sure that the state, as a state, will pass some of the law.”
Abbot added that it would lead to “chaos” and create an “unworkable system” for voters in individual cities to be “picking and choosing” the laws they want abide by under state statute.
Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton has also pushed back against the campaign to adopt local cannabis decriminalization measures across Texas. In January 2024, he filed lawsuits against five of the cities where voters had approved such initiatives. Upon filing the legal actions, Paxton vowed to overturn the “anarchy” of “pro-crime extremists” who campaigned for the policy change.
“This unconstitutional action by municipalities demonstrates why Texas must have a law to ‘follow the law,’” he said. “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.”
Paxton argued that the Texas Constitution and state laws prevent local governments from enacting laws to conflict with state law. In a statement to the press, he promised that he would “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.”
After Paxton filed the lawsuits, Ground Game Texas dismissed his actions, saying that the state’s home rule laws allow city and county governments to establish policies for their communities.
“Ken Paxton’s lawsuits represent an anti-democratic assault on the constitutional authority of Texas Home Rule cities to set local law enforcement priorities,” Julie Oliver, executive director for Ground Game Texas, said in a press release. “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 November 2023, Ground Game Texas released a report illustrating the effects of local cannabis decriminalization policies. In the report, the group held that the reforms will keep hundreds of people out of jail, saving local communities the expense of prosecuting and incarcerating them.
“Ground Game has worked with local community organizations in these five cities to engage voters, adopt popular policies, advance meaningful criminal justice reform, and save millions of dollars in public resources,” Oliver said in a statement. “Through the issue of marijuana reform, we’re helping Texans realize that their voice matters, that their vote matters, and that they can shape their own destiny through civic engagement.”
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