Texas Update: This City Seeks To Decriminalize Cannabis Possession, Legalize Weed

In Texas, San Antonio officials certified a measure to decriminalize marijuana possession in the city, according to Marijuana Moment.

The initiative, thanks to the activist group Ground Game Texas, collected petitions with over 37,000 signatures to place the measure on a May 6 ballot.

The measure seeks to decriminalize local low-level marijuana offenses. It also stipulates that police cannot “consider the odor of marijuana or hemp to constitute probable cause for any search or seizure.”

However, San Antonio City Attorney Andy Segovia said the city "will likely refuse to enact the ordinance if voters pass it." City authorities "do not possess the legal power to limit the enforcement of state drug laws."

NORML’s Jax James, who serves as the Executive Director of Texas NORML, said Texans want "major cannabis law reforms via polling, legislative engagement, and now at the local ballot box.”

“While these local advancements are important in mitigating harm to citizens and reprioritizing law enforcement time, they result in a patchwork of differing marijuana enforcement policies based on location. It is time for lawmakers to enact statewide reforms that address Texas’ failed policy of cannabis prohibition,” James added. Texas leads the nation in cannabis-related arrests, which are disproportionately African Americans, per NORML.

Meanwhile, State Representative Jessica Gonzalez (D-Dallas) filed House Bill 1937, which would allow counties and municipalities seeking to legalize adult-use cannabis, reported Fox 4 News.

The bill would allow Texans 21 and older to possess no more than 2.5 ounces of cannabis. Also, it would impose a 10% tax on all weed products that would be destinated “to cannabis regulation, cannabis testing, quality control, government oversight, and to school funds,” per the local news outlet.

While Texas has made progress with the Compassionate Use Act, the Lone Star State has been left behind on "a potential revenue source" that would benefit public education. It would also stop "unnecessary arrests for cannabis possession, and create jobs in our state," Gonzalez explained.

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