DALLAS — If Dallas voters pass a marijuana decriminalization charter amendment in November, it would become the largest Texas city to do so.
And over the last few weeks, some smaller cities that have already decided to ban arrests for low-level marijuana possession scored courtroom victories.
Ground Game Texas, which launched the initial proposition in Austin and gathered enough signatures to force the issue onto the ballot in Dallas, says what they’re doing is legal.
“What our policy is just saying is that the Dallas community and Texas in general are tired of investing in these draconian laws that are ineffective, wasteful, and often racially biased,” Ground Game Texas Executive Director Catina Voellinger told us on Inside Texas Politics.
Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Austin, San Marcos and three other cities earlier this year after they adopted measures that direct police officers to stop arresting and citing people with small amounts of marijuana, generally four ounces or less.
Paxton argues that cities cannot pick and choose which state laws they enforce, and recreational marijuana remains illegal in Texas.
But a Hays County Judge recently dismissed his lawsuit against San Marcos arguing that the state wouldn’t be injured if that city arrests fewer people for marijuana possession, instead moving those resources to higher priority public safety calls.
And a few weeks before that, a Travis County Judge dismissed Paxton’s lawsuit against Austin.
Ground Game Texas expects the Attorney General to appeal.
However, the advocacy group’s Executive Director says their legal argument is very simple and used Dallas as an example.
“The State of Texas does not give Dallas money for Dallas police, right? They cannot regulate discretion in how the city prioritizes enforcement on this,” Voellinger argued.