An appellate court in Texas has taken the side of the state against the city of San Marcus, which was suing the state over its challenge to the local decriminalization of marijuana law.
In a decision issued on Thursday, the Fifteenth Court of Appeals of New York State overturned a previous ruling, which denied a court order that would have prevented the enforcement of a law. As a result, the measure to reform cannabis, approved by 81 % of voters, is effectively invalidated.
It’s a blow to activists who led efforts in Texas to adopt local marijuana laws through ballot measures, some of which were challenged by Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The appeals court held that the trial court, which upheld the law of the city “abused its discretion,” when it refused certain requests by the state asserting that they had a constitutional preemption right over the city. It said that state law “prevents local governments” from placing any barriers to enforce drug laws.
“Texas law gives local governments and law enforcement officers a panoply of tools—such as the authority to issue citations and arrests—to enforce drug laws. The City of San Marcos is prohibited from implementing a drug policy that removes these options, according to Section 370.003.
The court went on to say that “no magic words” were required for the Legislature’s preemption of the Ordinance. The court stated that “a plain and fair interpretation of the Ordinance shows irreconcilable contradictions with section 370.003.”
San Marcos, Texas was among five cities where similar initiatives to decriminalize crime were approved by voters during the November 2020 election after Ground Game Texas and Mano Amiga Action advocates secured ballot positions.
It was prohibited for police to issue citations of arrest marijuana offenses that were classified as class A and/or B misdemeanors. There are some exceptions like if it is connected to a criminal investigation.
A police officer cannot issue citations solely for paraphernalia or residue in place of a charge. They couldn’t just use the smell of cannabis as a reason to search or seize a person.
Catina Voellinger of Ground Game Texas called the rulings in San Marcos a “deeply troublesome move for local democratic.”
She said, “Texans made it clear at the polls that they do not want to see their tax dollars used for unnecessary arrests.” “This ruling is proof that the state isn’t working to make communities safer—it’s working to crush people-powered movements.”
San Marcos, Texas said it was “reviewing an opinion by the Fifteenth Court of Appeals that remanded back the case to the Trial Court to obtain a temporary injunction to prevent enforcement of this ordinance.”
It said that “the City cannot enforce this ordinance until a court trial is held on its merits.” San Marcos City Council should meet at an executive session in the near future to get legal advice on what to do next. “We have no more information at this point.”
Texas activists are targeting Kyle in spite of ongoing legal proceedings related to previous decriminalization laws. They hope to put an initiative on the November ballot for local marijuana reform.
A number of courts have decided in the favor of advocates, despite state resistance and recent events in San Marcos.
For example, in February, a Texas judge has ruled that a cannabis decriminalization law approved by Dallas voters last year can continue to be implemented—denying a request from the state attorney general that sought to temporarily block the reform as a lawsuit proceeds.
The lawsuit filed by Paxton has not been thrown out. At least temporarily, however, the judge determined that the policy of decriminalization could continue while the litigation proceeds.
Dallas Police Department had previously instructed officers to stop arresting or citing people for possession of up to four ounces of marijuana, in accordance with the voter-approved ballot initiative.
Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican governor from Texas, has attacked the efforts of local governments to legalize cannabis.
“Local communities such as towns, cities and counties, they don’t have the authority to override state law,” the governor said last May “If they want to see a different law passed, they need to work with their legislators. We need to legislate in order to ensure that our state will be able to pass certain laws.
It would be a “chaos” system and “unworkable” to allow voters to choose the state laws that they wish to adhere to.
Abbott has previously said that he doesn’t believe people should be in jail over marijuana possession—although he mistakenly suggested at the time that Texas had already enacted a decriminalization policy to that end.
In 2023, Ground Game released a report that looked at the impacts of the marijuana reform laws. In 2023, Ground Game released a report that examined the impacts of marijuana reform laws. It concluded that hundreds of people will avoid jail even though some cities have experienced repercussions from law enforcement. Report said that the initiatives had also increased voter participation by appearing on ballots.
Another cannabis decriminalization measure that went before voters in San Antonio that year was overwhelmingly defeated, but that proposal also included unrelated provisions to prevent enforcement of abortion restrictions.
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Meanwhile, late last month the Texas Senate approved a bill that cannabis advocates and stakeholders said would effectively eradicate the state’s hemp industry, prohibiting consumable products derived from the plant that contain any amount of THC.
That, as well as another measure from Rep. Joe Moody (D) to decriminalize cannabis statewide, is one of the latest of nearly two dozen cannabis-related proposals filed so far in Texas for the current legislative session. Several other measures aim to legalize marijuana for adults, eliminate criminal penalties associated with cannabis possession, adjust existing medical marijuana law in Texas, etc.
Moody sponsored a similar marijuana decriminalization bill last legislative session, in 2023. That measure, HB 218, passed the House on an 87–59 vote but later died in a Senate committee.
The House had already passed earlier cannabis decriminalization proposals during the two previous legislative sessions, in 2021 and 2019. But the efforts have consistently stalled in the Senate amid opposition from the lieutenant governor.
You can find the Texas Court of Appeals’ ruling below on San Marcos Marijuana Decriminalization Case.
The former marijuana prisoners who received clemency from Trump hold an event outside the White House to request relief for those still behind bars
Side Pocket Images. Image courtesy Chris Wallis.
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