 A Texas poll that was released over the summer found that 60 percent of voters in the state support making cannabis legal “for any use.” Despite that support, current Texas Governor, Greg Abbott, continues his stance trying to prevent cannabis legalization initiatives, and state lawmakers have been unable to pass a statewide decriminalization proposal. Texas does not allow citizen-led initiatives to put statewide issues on the ballot. But there is the potential for local jurisdictions to put voter led initiatives such as decriminatlization on the ballot, and that’s just what one activits group has successfully been doing. Ground Game Initiative has brought a decriminalization initiative to voters in Austin who passed the measure. And, this November their efforts were successful in bringing more initiatives to vote, this time it’s the cities of Denton, Elgin, Harker Heights, Killeen and San Marcos who will be voting on decriminalization. And now, they are setting their sights on San Antonio for the next signature drive to put a decriminalization initiative on ballots next Spring. Ground Game Texas will be working with two other advocacy groups who are also bringing initiatives on other non-cannabis related measures. For the cannabis section of the initiative, Ground Game Texas has written their goal is passing a measure so that “San Antonio police officers shall not issue citations or make arrests for Class A or Class B misdemeanor possession of marijuana offenses.” It also says that police can’t “consider the odor of marijuana or hemp to constitute probable cause for any search or seizure.” Additionally, they are seeking that, “No City funds or personnel shall be used to request, conduct, or obtain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) testing of any cannabis-related substance to determine whether the substance meets the legal definition of marijuana under state law.” It would also decriminalize possession of synthetic cannabinoids by requiring police to issue a ticket or citation, rather than arrest, for possessing up to four ounces of the substance. The measure’s other parts will be related to the other advocacy groups who are seeking to prevent law enforcement from criminalizing abortion, executing no-knock warrants and using chokeholds against suspects. They are also asking the city to appoint a “Justice Director” to fulfill three policy priorities, including: reduce mass incarceration, mitigate racial disparities in law enforcement practices and “save scarce public resources for greater public needs.” Activists will be working to collect approximately 35,000 signatures by early January to ensure placement for the May 2023 ballot. Julie Oliver, the executive director of Ground Game Texas, said in a press release, “The San Antonio Justice Charter is a groundbreaking suite of extremely popular reforms that would improve public safety, reduce unnecessary arrests, promote transparency and accountability in law enforcement, and end the criminalization of fundamental rights like abortion … We look forward to San Antonio becoming a model for improving public safety and protecting basic rights through direct democracy.” Voters in San Antonio can look for that petition to sign, and hopefully they’ll be able to vote on that issue next May as planned.
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