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MARIJUANA MOMENT

TEXAS GOVERNOR CONDEMNS LOCAL MARIJUANA DECRIMINALIZATION EFFORTS AS LUBBOCK
VOTERS DECIDE ON REFORM AT THE BALLOT


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POLITICS


TEXAS GOVERNOR CONDEMNS LOCAL MARIJUANA DECRIMINALIZATION EFFORTS AS LUBBOCK
VOTERS DECIDE ON REFORM AT THE BALLOT

Published

9 seconds ago

on

April 26, 2024

By

Kyle Jaeger

The Republican governor of Texas says that cities seeking to locally
decriminalize marijuana—including one that’s set to vote on the reform next
week—don’t have the authority to “override” state law.

Three months after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) sued five cities over
voter-approved cannabis decriminalization policies, Gov. Greg Abbott (R)
addressed the forthcoming vote in Lubbock, where the reform is on the local May
4 ballot.

The governor told KAMC that his concern was “bigger” than the question of
decriminalization itself and was more a matter of localities superseding state
laws.

Young Americans Are Five Times More Likely To Smoke Marijuana Than Cigarettes

Young Americans Are Five Times More Likely To Smoke Marijuana Than Cigarettes
New polling data from Gallup indicates that a significantly higher number of
Americans now report using marijuana compared to cigarettes.  Moreover, young
adults are over five times more likely to consume cannabis than tobacco. 
Overall, 17% of Americans report smoking marijuana, while only 12% reported
smoking any cigarettes in the past week.  This disparity is particularly notable
among younger age groups.  Among those aged 18-34, 26% reported using cannabis,
compared to just 5% who reported smoking cigarettes.  For adults aged 35-54, 18%
reported marijuana use, which is higher than the 16% who smoke cigarettes. 
However, among adults aged 55 and older, the prevalence of cigarette smoking in
the past week (13%) slightly exceeds that of marijuana use (11%). The survey
question on marijuana use focused on "smoking" the substance, potentially
overlooking other forms of cannabis consumption like edibles and vapes.
“Americans’ reported marijuana smoking has more than doubled since 2013, when
Gallup first added the question in its annual Consumption Habits survey,” the
polling firm said. Support for marijuana legalization has also reached a record
high, with 70% of Americans expressing approval of the policy change.
Conversely, rates of cigarette smoking have declined to historic lows amid
increased awareness of the health risks associated with tobacco.  Additionally,
Gallup's separate survey from last year found that Americans perceive marijuana
to be less harmful than alcohol, cigarettes, vapes, and other tobacco products.
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“Local communities such as towns, cities and counties, they don’t have the
authority to override state law,” Abbott said. “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.”

The governor has previously said that he doesn’t believe people should be in
jail over marijuana possession—although he mistakenly suggested that Texas had
already enacted a decriminalization policy to that end.



In the new interview this week, Abbott said it would lead to “chaos” for voters
in individual cities to be “picking and choosing” the laws they want abide by
under state statute.

“It’s an unworkable system,” he said.



Early voting on the Lubbock measure began on Monday, April 22 and goes through
Tuesday, April 30—with Election Day coming on the following Saturday.

Paxton, the state attorney general, used more inflammatory rhetoric when his
office announced that it was 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.



He filed lawsuits against the cities of Austin, San Marcos, Killeen, Elgin and
Denton. The litigation is still pending, but advocates in Lubbock are moving
ahead with their local reform effort nonetheless.

Adam Hernandez, the Lubbock decriminalization campaign director who is also
running to become the city’s next mayor, told Marijuana Moment on Thursday that
he feels the attorney general’s lawsuits have actually “energized people” to
vote in favor of the reform proposal.

“I don’t know that it’s been working the way that they would like it to work,”
he said. “They’ve been getting a lot of pushback from the community—people
calling out a lot of the misinformation that’s been going around.”



Hernandez added that “we’re not really concerned” about the threat of a lawsuit
coming down on Lubbock if the cannabis measure passes, and he pointed out that
there’s also a clause in the measure that says, in the event that
decriminalization is voided by the state, it would still become the city’s
lowest law enforcement priority.

Last December, lawmakers in Lubbock officially approved a resolution to put the
local decriminalization initiative on the ballot after declining to enact on the
reform legislatively.



Meanwhile, activists with Ground Game Texas and Texas Cannabis Collective have
been collecting signatures to place local marijuana decriminalization
initiatives on the November ballot in two more cities: Dallas and Lockhart.

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.



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 December.

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.”

> VP Kamala Harris Highlights Marijuana Pardons At Another White House Event
> With Presidential Clemency Recipients





Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.

Marijuana Moment is made possible with support from readers. If you rely on our
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pledge.
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Kyle Jaeger


Kyle Jaeger is Marijuana Moment's Sacramento-based managing editor. His work has
also appeared in High Times, VICE and attn.



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