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* Politics * Science & Health * Culture * Business * Video * Newsletter * Subscribe * Remove Ads * Bill Tracking * About * Login Instructions * All 2024 Cannabis Bills * Bill Hearing Calendar * About Marijuana Moment * Support Marijuana Moment * Subscribe To Newsletter Connect with us * * * MARIJUANA MOMENT TEXAS GOP ATTORNEY GENERAL SUES TO OVERTURN MARIJUANA DECRIMINALIZATION ‘ANARCHY’ IN FIVE CITIES DESPITE LOCAL VOTER APPROVAL * Politics * South Carolina Senators Fall Short Of Supermajority Vote To Advance Medical Marijuana Legalization Bill * DOJ Seeks White House Approval For Updated Marijuana Pardon Certificate Form Under Biden’s Expanded Proclamation * Germany’s Coalition Government Reaches Final Deal On Marijuana Legalization Bill, With Vote Set For This Month * Legal Marijuana Sales In Missouri Will Bring In Nearly $20 Million To Support Veterans This Fiscal Year * Florida Lawmakers Greenlight Proposal To Eliminate Medical Marijuana Registration Fees For Veterans * Science & Health * Scientists Develop New Method To Test For Recent Marijuana Use With 96% Accuracy In Federally Funded Driving Simulation Study * American Medical Association Says Safe Drug Consumption Sites ‘Save Lives’ By Reducing Risky Behaviors And Overdose Deaths * Dogs Given CBD See ‘Significant Reductions’ In Stress And Anxiety Related To Riding In Cars, Study Finds * CDC Finds Youth Marijuana Use Fell In Washington State’s Largest County After Adult-Use Legalization * Marijuana Study Comparing U.S. And Canada Finds Broad Legalization Support And Similar Use Rates Despite Differing National Policies * Culture * Brooklyn Nets And New York Liberty Become First NBA And WNBA Teams To Partner With CBD Company * UFC Warns Fighters To Stop Using Marijuana ‘Immediately’ So They Aren’t Punished Under California Athletics Rules * Treasury Secretary Yellen Says She Over-Prepared For First Time Using Marijuana And Jokes That It ‘Always Helps’ With Candy Crush * NFL Partnering On New Study Using CBD To Treat Pain And Protect From Concussions * NCAA Division I To Vote On Removing Marijuana From Banned Substances List For Student Athletes * Business * Multiple States Across The Country See Record-Breaking Marijuana Sales To Close Out 2023 * Massachusetts Sets Marijuana Sales Record In December, With Total Purchases In 2023 Reaching $1.8 Billion * Missouri Sold More Than $1.3 Billion Worth Of Legal Marijuana In 2023, State Figures Show * Michigan Marijuana Sales Surpassed $3 Billion In 2023 As Retailers Smashed Monthly Record In December * Rhode Island Marijuana Retailers Shatter Monthly Sales Record, Capping Off $100 Million In Cannabis Purchases In 2023 * Video * New Hampshire House Subcommittee Tacks Toward More Traditional Marijuana Sales Model, Risking Pushback From Governor * U.S. Senator And Congressman Urge Feds To Fully Legalize Marijuana, Rather Than Reschedule It * Biden Falsely Suggests Marijuana Pardons ‘Expunged’ Records And Released Prisoners While Campaigning On ‘Promises Kept’ * Fetterman Opposes Schumer’s Zyn Nicotine Pouch Crackdown For Same ‘Freedom’ Reasons He Backs Marijuana Legalization * Ohio Marijuana Law Has Created A ‘Goofy Situation,’ Governor Says, With Legal Possession But No Place To Buy It * Newsletter * GOP cannabis pushback in Congress (Newsletter: February 2, 2024) * TX AG’s cannabis lawsuit seeks to overturn local decrim laws (Newsletter: February 1, 2024) * Senators demand DEA answer cannabis questions (Newsletter: January 31, 2024) * Biden misstates cannabis pardon impact (Newsletter: January 30, 2024) * NY gov “fed up” with cannabis market launch (Newsletter: January 29, 2024) * Subscribe * Remove Ads * Bill Tracking * About * Login Instructions * All 2024 Cannabis Bills * Bill Hearing Calendar * About Marijuana Moment * Support Marijuana Moment * Subscribe To Newsletter POLITICS TEXAS GOP ATTORNEY GENERAL SUES TO OVERTURN MARIJUANA DECRIMINALIZATION ‘ANARCHY’ IN FIVE CITIES DESPITE LOCAL VOTER APPROVAL Published 2 days ago on January 31, 2024 By Kyle Jaeger The Republican attorney general of Texas is suing five cities over local laws decriminalizing marijuana that voters approved, vowing to overrule the “anarchy” of “pro-crime extremists” who advocated for the reform. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) on Wednesday filed lawsuits against the cities of Austin, San Marcos, Killeen, Elgin and Denton over the decriminalization policies that voters passed at the ballot over recent years. Citing state statute and Constitutional provisions that he argues prevent localities from enacting laws that conflict with statewide policy, Paxton said in a press release on Wednesday that he “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.” States That Legalized Marijuana See Massive Reduction in Tobacco Use States That Legalized Marijuana See Massive Reduction in Tobacco Use Legalizing marijuana has had a major impact in tobacco consumption. Despite what many experts thought, a new study published in the Journal of Health Economics concluded that state-level cannabis reforms are mostly associated with “small, occasionally significant longer-run declines in adult tobacco use.” Veuer’s Maria Mercedes Galuppo has the story. More Videos 0 seconds of 43 secondsVolume 0% Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts Keyboard ShortcutsEnabledDisabled Play/PauseSPACE Increase Volume↑ Decrease Volume↓ Seek Forward→ Seek Backward← Captions On/Offc Fullscreen/Exit Fullscreenf Mute/Unmutem Decrease Caption Size- Increase Caption Size+ or = Seek %0-9 Next Up Cannabis sales hit record high in Michigan 01:27 facebook twitter Email pinterest Linkhttps://cdn.jwplayer.com/previews/mNgCnpyB Copied Live 00:00 03:02 00:43 “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.” This comes as activists with Ground Game Texas and Texas Cannabis Collective are actively collecting signatures to place local marijuana decriminalization initiatives on the November ballot in two more cities: Dallas and Lockhart. Voters in Lubbock are already set to get the opportunity to decide on a local decriminalization measure in May after lawmakers approved a resolution to place it on the ballot after declining to enact on the reform legislatively. “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.” “Furthermore, Paxton’s slander of so-called ‘pro crime’ organizations that support marijuana reform policies is profoundly ironic coming from a person who is under criminal indictment for securities fraud, under federal investigation for other financial crimes, and has admitted to violating the civil rights of whistleblowers within his own office,” she said. “This lawsuit is an obvious attempt to deflect from Paxton’s embarrassing legal jeopardy and diminishing political influence.” In general, the measures that have 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. Harker Heights wasn’t targeted in the lawsuit, which is likely related to the city’s refusal to implement the voter-approved policy change, which prompted Ground Game to file suit against officials last month. 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 May—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. Advocates have faced other issues in certain jurisdictions where voters approved decriminalization. The Killeen City Council temporarily paused implementation of its local voter-approved ordinance, arguing that there were legal concerns that lawmakers needed to sort through before giving it their approval, which they eventually did. But last April, Bell County filed a lawsuit challenging the policy. 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. Nearly three in four Texas voters (72 percent) support decriminalizing marijuana, according to a University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll in 2022. 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.” > New Kentucky Marijuana Bill—HB 420—Would Legalize It For Adults, But Faces > Uphill Battle In GOP-Controlled Legislature Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images. Marijuana Moment is made possible with support from readers. If you rely on our cannabis advocacy journalism to stay informed, please consider a monthly Patreon pledge. Related Topics:featured Up Next Virginia Senate Committee Approves Marijuana Retail Sales And Resentencing Bills Don't Miss New Kentucky Marijuana Bill—HB 420—Would Legalize It For Adults, But Faces Uphill Battle In GOP-Controlled Legislature Kyle Jaeger Kyle Jaeger is Marijuana Moment's Sacramento-based managing editor. His work has also appeared in High Times, VICE and attn. YOU MAY LIKE South Carolina Senators Fall Short Of Supermajority Vote To Advance Medical Marijuana Legalization Bill Brooklyn Nets And New York Liberty Become First NBA And WNBA Teams To Partner With CBD Company DOJ Seeks White House Approval For Updated Marijuana Pardon Certificate Form Under Biden’s Expanded Proclamation Germany’s Coalition Government Reaches Final Deal On Marijuana Legalization Bill, With Vote Set For This Month Legal Marijuana Sales In Missouri Will Bring In Nearly $20 Million To Support Veterans This Fiscal Year Florida Lawmakers Greenlight Proposal To Eliminate Medical Marijuana Registration Fees For Veterans Advertisement MARIJUANA NEWS IN YOUR INBOX Get our daily newsletter. Email address: Leave this field empty if you're human: SUPPORT MARIJUANA MOMENT * * * * About Marijuana Moment * Subscribe * Sponsorship and Advertising * Privacy Policy All the cannabis news you need, all in one place. 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