Senate Bill 1870, filed by Sen. Charles Perry of Lubbock, specifically bans civilian initiatives to decriminalize marijuana from appearing on local ballots. Cities that ignore the rule would face a $25,000 first-time fee and a $50,000 fine for each successive infraction. The bill has passed the Senate and is in committee at the House of Representatives.
In the last local election cycle, the city turned the enforcement of marijuana laws over to its constituents, allowing Dallasites to vote on Proposition R, which would effectively ban Dallas police from making arrests or issuing citations for the possession of four ounces or less of marijuana. The city charter amendment would also prevent officers from conducting searches and seizures on the grounds of marijuana odors during non-violent crime investigations. Proposition R passed with 67% of residents voting in favor of decriminalization.
In little time, Paxton swept in with a quick lawsuit mirroring the ones he had filed against other cities for the same cause: allowing citizens to decide whether small amounts of marijuana should be an arrestable offense.
“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 press release. “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.”
North Texans React
The city of Denton was one of the earliest North Texas cities to place decriminalization on their local election ballots, and the measure passed by a landslide 70% in 2022. Dentonites had been pulling for the initiative for decades. With a large young population, primarily because of the large campus within city limits, Denton has been referred to as a “mini Austin” and tends to stray from the typical Republicanism of its surrounding cities.Hayden Meek, owner of Delta 8 Denton, the first and only hemp delivery service in Denton, has watched the battle for legalization from the vote to decriminalize in 2022 through Paxton’s lawsuit, and has now become an outspoken advocate as the Texas Legislature prepares to clamp down on THC and hemp in the state.
“Any law trying to restrict cannabis in any capacity is more than likely against the interest of the people,” said Meek. “It's been shown very strongly that Texans overwhelmingly are for cannabis in some capacity.”
Meek says Perry’s bill removes the power from the people, effectively ridding any democracy.
“The fact that they felt the need to put a bill together to prevent people from expressing their thoughts and rights is an egregious act against democracy,” he said. “There's nothing that making a bill like this accomplishes other than telling us that you don't care about what we are trying to do, what we want, what our beliefs are.”
Perry’s attempt to keep voters from decriminalizing minimal amounts of marijuana is one of the several bills moving through the Legislature that mirror the zero-tolerance policies of the initial War on Drugs. It’s a step backward for the state that recently made hesitant but progressive changes to marijuana laws, including allowing for medical marijuana and allowing the legal sale of THC products, both in the last ten years.
“It's more obvious every time one of these bills tries to go through, there are so many of these hemp and THC and marijuana blocking bills hidden in the legislature right now,” he said. “I'm still finding new ones every day. There's very little sympathy or appreciation coming from those people that we put in power.”
Meek, like many others, is reliant on hemp for his livelihood, but a separate bill, gaining traction and an equal amount of media attention, places his business at risk. Senate Bill 3 is one of the spotlight bills this session, garnering attention for the extreme limitations it would put on hemp products.
But the shop owner says even if a statewide hemp ban is enacted and cities can no longer vote for decriminalization, the fight for legalization will be far from over in North Texas.
“If a hemp ban did occur, there's always been fighters and warriors for cannabis,” he said. “That's always going to be something that's kind of part of the lifeblood of Denton. I'm sure even after full federal legalization, I'm sure Denton will find a way to keep fighting for people's rights.”
