Texas cities could be set on decriminalization

election

November 5, 2024

Three Texas cities appear to be following Austin, Lubbock, and others that have decriminalized cannabis. Hemp THC products have exploded in the state despite a lack of movement on legalization. The major metropolis of Dallas has approved its social justice-focused measure, while voters Bastrop and Lockhart followed suit.

Signature collecting and canvassing efforts were spearheaded by Ground Game Texas in all three cities. The group engages Texas voters on cannabis year-round, recently picking up steam in the the Lone Star locales pushing decrim measures.

Proposition R, known as the Dallas Freedom Act, made the ballot after Ground Game gathered over 50,000 approved voter signatures. The charter amendment will drastically reduce enforcement of low-level possession.

The votes have rolled in, and Dallas seems on track to approve Prop R according to The Dallas Morning News. More than 64 percent of Dallas voters marked their ballots in favor, while only 35 percent were against decriminalizing.

“This decisive victory is very loud and clear when it comes to the state government’s outdated approach to marijuana regulation, which has unnecessarily criminalized countless of Texas,” the Dallas Freedom Act field director Natalie Marquez said to The Dallas Morning News.

If the amendment passes, law enforcement will no longer arrest or cite those holding four ounces of weed or less. Cops will also now be barred from using the scent of cannabis as probable cause for a search or seizure. City workers would not have the ability to use city funds to test substances against the legal definition of weed.

Bastrop, a town southeast of Austin, appears destined to pass its own decriminalization proposition with flying colors. Potential results for Prop M, or the Bastrop Freedom Act, show almost 70 percent of votes in favor of decriminalization and 30 percent against it. Lockhart, a small town south of Austin, has also moved to approve its measure.

These cities join in on the movement towards cannabis reform. While other states rail against prohibition with legalization, Dallas, Bastrop, and other Texas towns take noteworthy baby steps in the right direction. The massive voter approval on these measures reflect the booming hemp THC market, and a potential turning of the tides on legalization by the next election.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article has been updated to include Lockhart election results.

Cara Wietstock Cara Wietstock is senior content producer of GreenState.com and has been working in the cannabis space since 2011. She has covered the cannabis business beat for Ganjapreneur and The Spokesman Review. You can find her living in Bellingham, Washington with her husband, son, and a small zoo of pets.