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Like clockwork, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing Dallas after voters approved a ballot measure that functionally decriminalizes marijuana in the city.
All over the country, states have been warming up to the idea of relaxing marijuana prohibitions. Texas has taken what we see as a wiser approach, treating the increasingly popular drug with caution. New research and better data have continued to pour in, offering fresh reasons to give us pause.
But with Proposition R, Dallas is trying to jump the gun, and now the city is in Paxton’s crosshairs for the second time in three months.
We strongly recommended that voters reject Proposition R, citing public safety concerns raised by former Police Chief Eddie García. The charter amendment strictly limits the ability of police to cite or arrest an individual for the possession of up to four ounces of marijuana. Four ounces is a lot more than it might sound like, and it’s an amount only a dealer would typically carry.
Ground Game Texas, the progressive activist group that pushed the measure forward, called this proposition the Dallas Freedom Act. We said it would be more aptly dubbed the Dallas Drug Dealers Act.
A majority of voters disagreed with us, with about 66% casting a vote in favor of the proposition. A similar story played out after the election at the Dallas City Council.
When deciding whether the city would enforce the newly passed proposition, only two council members and the mayor voted in favor of adding a clause that would have prevented enforcement unless and until state law changes to allow the drug.
Proposition R leaves the city between a rock and hard place. Dallas voters clearly wanted this amendment to pass, but the amendment clearly contradicts state law. Whatever the case, Paxton was never going to stand for it.
Several other Texas cities have passed similar measures, including Austin, San Marcos, Killeen, Elgin and Denton. Paxton responded by suing all five in January. Some of those suits are still progressing through the courts while others have been dismissed, marking early but still far-from-final victories for proponents of marijuana legalization.
For example, in June, a Travis County District judge dismissed Paxton’s lawsuit against Austin, and in July, a Hays County District judge dismissed his suit against San Marcos, the Texas Tribune reported. Paxton is expected to appeal those decisions.
Win or lose the suit, Dallas is now part of this marijuana mess. That’s especially unfortunate at a time when the city is more vulnerable to lawsuits and more financially constrained than ever.
Texas has taken a measured approach to marijuana legalization. Dallas would have been better off as a city had it followed the state’s lead.
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Dallas tried to decriminalize marijuana too fast, and now Ken Paxton is suing the city. It would have been wiser to have followed the state’s cautious lead. Read More
