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A Texas appellate court has halted the implementation of San Marcos’ (population: 72,000) voter-initiated ordinance depenalizing marijuana possession.
Eighty-one percent of city voters approved the ordinance in 2022. It prohibits local police officers in most instances from either arresting or citing people for Class A or Class B marijuana misdemeanors.
Voters in several other Texas cities, including Austin and Dallas, have approved similar ordinances.
In February 2024, Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton filed suit against San Marcos and four other cities that had adopted voter-approved depenalization laws, opining, “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.” He filed a similar suit against the city of Dallas in December.
Reversing a lower court judge’s ruling, judges on the Fifteenth Court of Appeals sided with the Attorney General and held that state law preempts San Marcos from adopting the ordinance. Specifically, judges ruled: “Section 370.003 of the Local Government Code … prohibits local governments from putting up any barrier to the full enforcement of drug-related laws. Texas law gives local governments and law enforcement officers a panoply of tools — such as the authority to issue citations and arrests — to enforce drug laws. Section 370.003 prohibits the City of San Marcos from making a policy that takes any of those tools off the table.”
San Marcos police are anticipated to once again begin issuing citations and/or arrests for minor marijuana-related violations. Police had ceased making marijuana possession arrests following the passage of the ordinance.
NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said that the Attorney General’s actions are consistent with those of elected officials in other states, including Mississippi, Nebraska, and South Dakota, who have also turned to the courts to nullify marijuana-related election outcomes they disagree with.
“Whether or not one personally supports or opposes cannabis legalization, these cynical and undemocratic tactics ought to be a cause of deep concern,” Armentano said.
Texas judges have thus far resisted Paxton’s efforts to halt the implementation of similar ordinances in Austin and Dallas. Earlier this year, city council members in Bastrop (population: 11,700) and Lockhart (population: 15,300) declined to implement voter-approved depenalization ordinances out of fear of litigation.
State law defines marijuana possession of 2 ounces or less as a criminal misdemeanor, punishable by up to 180 days in jail, a $2,000 fine, and a criminal record. According to data compiled by Texas NORML, police made an estimated 219,000 marijuana-related arrests between 2017 and 2021. Ninety-seven percent of those arrested were charged with possession only. Fifty-six percent of those arrested were under 25 years of age.
“]] Eighty-one percent of San Marcos voters approved the 2022 ordinance prohibiting local police from either arresting or citing people for Class A or Class B marijuana misdemeanors. Read More
