Harker Heights activists have submitted what they believe are enough signatures to put a referendum on the November ballot that would undo a City Council decision to overturn a voter-approved marijuana legalisation effort.
Playing on the Ground Texas, which supported several successful municipal decriminalisation measures that passed this year, is now condemning a request from an outgoing district attorney for an opinion from the state attorney general on a separate reform initiative that voters in San Marcos endorsed by a large margin.
Shortly after voters in Harker Heights approved a decriminalisation measure in November, the city council voted to repeal it, forcing campaigners to launch a signature drive to return the decision to the voters.
The campaigners needed 348 valid signatures from Harker Heights residents in order to get the repeal of the rule on the city’s May 2023 ballot. Ground Game Texas announced at a press conference on Monday that they had submitted over 600 signatures to local officials.
“By voting to overturn Prop A, the Harker Heights City Council sent a clear message to their people that they don’t respect the will of the voters or the democracy they engage in,” said Julie Oliver, executive director of Ground Game Texas. More than five thousand Harker Heights voters’ ballots are being thrown away by antidemocratic politicians, but we won’t stand for it. Ground Game Texas hopes that this new referendum will prevent municipal politicians from disregarding voter preferences.
A city official previously stated that after they received the petitions for the vote to reverse the ordinance, they would “process the paperwork as identified within our charter.”
Decriminalization measures were approved at the municipal level in Denton, Elgin, and Killeen as well as Harker Heights and San Marcos during the November election, making Ground Game Texas a resounding success.
Only Harker Heights has taken any action to completely reverse the initiative, but campaigners are also keeping an eye on recent moves by Hays County Criminal District Attorney Wes Mau, who has asked Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for a legal opinion on the San Marcos decriminalisation vote.
The letter from the district attorney states, “Based on the passing of the ordinance, the following problems are raised.” The first question to consider is whether or not the state of Texas’s own marijuana possession and distribution statutes supersede the local ordinance. Second, “does the city risk legal action, especially with respect to potential discipline of San Marcos police officers refusing to comply with an unlawful ordinance, if the ordinance is void owing to preemption?”
“a disgraceful action from a lame duck District Attorney seeking to overturn the will of voters,” Ground Game Texas called the request.
On Saturday, the group’s general counsel, Mike Siegel, said, “We are monitoring this request attentively, and we are prepared to take action if the Attorney General intervenes.” And we look forward to the people of Hays County being represented by a new District Attorney who will respect the will of the voters who elected them, as we expect the elected officials in San Marcos to do.
Meanwhile, the Killeen City Council has chosen to delay enforcing the local decriminalisation ordinance, citing legal difficulties that need to be addressed before lawmakers can possibly give their assent.
There was a temporary hold on passing the ordinance, but that was lifted last week. However, it was changed by the local legislature so that police can now use the odour of cannabis as probable reason for a search or seizure.
Although Denton’s elected authorities never actively sought to overturn the reform measure, they did originally oppose major elements on the grounds that the city lacked the authority to direct the police to implement the measures’ mandated policy changes. The mayor and municipal manager, however, have stated that minor cannabis violations will not be given a high priority by law enforcement.
The city’s legislative body voted unanimously to recognise the election’s outcome.
Elgin, the second Texas municipality to enact decriminalisation legislation this month, has not yet faced any legislative or judicial challenges. Supporters, though, have no intention of giving up their gains.
Even though these reforms are novel to the cities where legislators are raising concerns, they are not without precedence in the Lone Star state. For example, in May of this year, Austin voters overwhelmingly supported a measure to decriminalise marijuana. Since then, it appears that the city has not faced any significant legal challenges related to this policy shift.
Meanwhile, campaigners in San Antonio, Texas’s second-largest city, stated in October that they would begin gathering signatures to place a local marijuana decriminalisation initiative on the May 20, 2023 ballot.
Home rule rules in Texas have led to a flurry of recent marijuana-related legislation at the municipal level, while statewide reform efforts have stalled in the state legislature.
A bill to decriminalise cannabis was passed by the House in 2019, but it died in the Senate. Unfortunately, lawmakers have been unable to enact any more comprehensive cannabis measures in previous sessions.
Governor Greg Abbott (R) of Texas has stated his opinion that he does not think people should be jailed for minor marijuana possession. Incorrectly, the governor indicated that legislators had approved the measure on a statewide basis.
The vast majority of Texans, including the majority of Republicans, back broader change to legalise marijuana for adult use, according to a poll published last year. Sixty percent of respondents in the state support legalising cannabis “for any usage,” while nearly nine in ten people believe marijuana should be allowed for some reason, according to another survey.
The legalisation of cannabis also has greater support in Texas than the state’s top elected officials and President Joe Biden, according to a poll conducted in June.
In September, Republican House Speaker Dade Phelan stated his intention to push for criminal justice reform during the upcoming 2023 session. Phelan has previously stated his support for reducing punishment for marijuana possession.
More than 1,500 cannabis, psychedelic, and drug policy measures have been introduced in state legislatures and Congress this year, and Cannabis Moment is keeping tabs on them all. If you’re a Patreon and you pledge at least $25 each month, you’ll have access to our interactive maps, charts, and hearing calendar so you won’t miss a thing.
Visit our Cannabis Legislation Tracker page and become a patron on Patreon to gain access.
Beto O’Rourke (D), the Democratic candidate for governor of Texas this year, has long called for an end to marijuana prohibition and made this change a central plank of his campaign. But Abbott was able to catch up and pass him in the last stages.
Some drug policy reforms made progress in the legislature during the previous session, although not as quickly as supporters had hoped.
Legislation mandating research on the therapeutic potential of some psychedelics for war veterans and legislation expanding the state’s medical cannabis programme both became law.
The Texas Republican Party initially included language in its 2018 platform supporting the decriminalisation of marijuana possession, but they have since removed it.
Separately, in March, the state Supreme Court heard testimony in a case challenging the state’s ban on producing smokable hemp products, the latest stage in a protracted legal dispute over the regulation that was initially established and contested in 2020.
To make it onto the May 2023 ballot in San Antonio, activists need to gather at least 20,000 valid signatures from registered voters by early January. The organisations have stated that they will submit 35,000 signatures at the very least.
