Politics
Another Texas Judge Upholds Local Marijuana Decriminalization Law, Rejecting GOP Attorney General’s Lawsuit Against San Marcos
Another Texas district judge has dismissed a lawsuit from the state’s Republican attorney general that sought to overturn a local marijuana decriminalization ordinance—this time in San Marcos.
Ground Game Texas, the advocacy group behind the cannabis measure, announced on Tuesday that Hays County District Judge Sherri Tibbe dismissed the suit from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), enabling the city to continue implementing the decriminalization policy that voters approved in 2022.
Paxton filed a lawsuit in January challenging local decriminalization laws that were enacted in five cities: Austin, San Marcos, Killeen, Elgin and Denton. A different district judge had overturned the suit in Austin last month.
Ground Game pointed out in its brief supporting the dismissal of the San Marcos lawsuit that, since the city enacted the reform, marijuana possession cases fell by 85 percent, with no adverse public safety implications. Police, in turn, were able to more effectively allocate resources.
“Judge Tibbe rightly recognized Paxton has no legal basis for interfering with the will of local voters or municipal governments,” Catina Voellinger, executive director of the advocacy group, said in a press release.
🌟 Ken vs. Texans: How it's going…
We're winning the fight for cannabis decriminalization in TX! Join us: https://t.co/oJh9GilEvo pic.twitter.com/kLYhUhMCCt
— GroundGameTX (@GroundGameTX) July 24, 2024
She said that the judge’s action, as well as the recent certification of signatures to put decriminalization on the ballot in Dallas this November, is a “welcome reminder that this is a winning movement, and one we look forward to continuing to build across the state this November with the collaboration of partners like Mano Amiga,” which also spearheaded the San Marcos initiative.
“This dismissal is not just a win for the City of San Marcos but also for all communities striving to uphold justice and local governance free from unwarranted state interference,” Eric Martinez, executive director of Mano Amiga, said. “It reaffirms our commitment to ensuring that our city officials can follow the will of the voters and perform their duties without the shadow of unfounded legal challenges.”
Last month, officials in another city that was targeted by Paxton’s lawsuit, Elgin, settled their lawsuit with the state attorney general, with the local government pointing out that decriminalization was never implemented there despite voter approval of the initiative.
Meanwhile, earlier this month activists in Bastrop, Texas turned in what they believe to be enough signatures to put another marijuana decriminalization initiative on the local November ballot.
Advocates in Lockhart also recently turned in what they say are sufficient signatures to qualify their cannabis decriminalization initiative for the ballot.
In a setback from advocates, however, voters in Lubbock rejected a separate cannabis reform initiative last month.
Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has separately lashed out against the municipal cannabis reform efforts.
“Local communities such as towns, cities and counties, they don’t have the authority to override state law,” the governor said in May “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.”
He said 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.
Abbott has previously said that he doesn’t believe people should be in jail over marijuana possession—although he mistakenly suggested at the time that Texas had already enacted a decriminalization policy to that end.
Paxton had used more inflammatory rhetoric when his office announced that it was suing the five cities over their local laws decriminalizing marijuana, vowing to overrule the “anarchy” of “pro-crime extremists” who advocated for the reform.
In general, the measures that have already been enacted in Austin, Denton, Elgin, Harker Heights, Killeen and San Marcos prevent police from making arrests or issuing citations for Class A or B misdemeanor cannabis possession offenses, unless it’s part of a high priority felony investigation for narcotics or violent crime.
Shortly after voters in Harker Heights approved their measure, the city council overturned the ordinance over concerns that it conflicted with state law. But activists collected signatures for another initiative and successfully repealed the repeal last year—though officials have still refused to move forward with implementing the will of voters.
In November, Ground Game released a report that looked at the impacts of the marijuana reform laws. It found that the measures will keep hundreds of people out of jail, even as they have led to blowback from law enforcement in some cities. The initiatives have also driven voter turnout by being on the ballot, the report said.
Another cannabis decriminalization measure that went before voters in San Antonio last May was overwhelmingly defeated, but that proposal also included unrelated provisions to prevent enforcement of abortion restrictions.
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At the state-level last year, the Texas House of Representatives passed a series of bills to decriminalize marijuana, facilitate expungements and allow chronic pain patients to access medical cannabis as an opioid alternative. But they ultimately stalled out in the Senate, which has been a theme for cannabis reform measures in the conservative legislature over several sessions.
The House passed similar cannabis decriminalization proposals during the past two legislative sessions, in 2021 and 2019.
Separately, a Texas Democratic senator brought the issue of marijuana legalization to the Senate floor last May, seeking to attach to an unrelated resolution an amendment that would’ve allowed Texans to vote on ending prohibition at the ballot box. But the symbolic proposal was ultimately shut down. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) agreed to another member’s point of order, deeming the cannabis amendment not germane to the broader legislation.
Three in five Texans, including a plurality of Republicans, support legalizing marijuana, according to a survey released in May.
Another poll released in 2022 found that nearly three in four Texas voters (72 percent) support decriminalizing marijuana. More than half (55 percent), meanwhile, said they’re in favor of broader legalization. Seventeen percent said it shouldn’t be legal at all.
Last March, the same institution similarly showed that a majority of Texas voters feel that the state’s marijuana laws should be “less strict.”
Photo elements courtesy of rawpixel and Philip Steffan.
