Austin police officers would be barred from making arrests or issuing citations for low-level marijuana offenses under a ballot measure that could be up for voter approval in May, the Texas Tribune reported.
The measure would also stop the city from paying to test suspected marijuana, the story said. In practice, Austin already has informally adopted both standards, the Tribune reported.
“The primary effect is that it would make the decriminalization that exists in Austin today actually long term and would put the force of law behind it,” Chris Harris, policy director at Austin Justice Coalition, told the Tribune.
Marijuana is still illegal under Texas state law but the number of new charges for misdemeanor marijuana possession fell by 59% from 2016 to 2020, as the major urban areas backed off on the enforcement, the story said.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott apparently holds the same opinion.
“One thing that I believe in, and I believe the state Legislature believes in, and that is prison and jail is a place for dangerous criminals who may harm others,” Abbott said during a recent campaign stop, the Tribune reported. “Small possession of marijuana is not the type of violation that we want to stockpile jails with.”
However, bills to decriminalize marijuana have not made it through the Texas legislature, with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican who heads the state Senate, saying he is “strongly opposed” to lowering punishment for possession, the Tribune said.
