Texas Court Blocks Marijuana Decriminalization Law In Austin, Restoring Police Authority To Make Arrests For Simple Possession
By Kyle Jaeger | Marijuana Moment | April 24, 2025
A Texas appeals court has blocked a voter-approved marijuana decriminalization law from being implemented in Austin, temporarily restoring law enforcement’s authority to arrest people over low-level cannabis possession in the state’s capital city.
The same appellate court also recently sided with the state in its lawsuit challenging the city of San Marcus over the implementation of its local marijuana decriminalization law approved by voters. Read more.
Texas Senate Passes Bill To Ban Cities From Putting Marijuana Decriminalization Initiatives On Local Ballots
By Kyle Jaeger | Marijuana Moment | April 23, 2025
The Texas Senate has approved a bill that would prohibit cities from putting any citizen initiative on local ballots that would decriminalize marijuana or other controlled substances—as several localities have already done despite lawsuits from the state attorney general.
[Senate Bill 1870] from Sen. Charles Perry (R) is responsive to those local reforms, and it passed the chamber on Wednesday in a 23-8 vote. It now heads to the House of Representatives.
Under the proposal, state law would be amended to say that local entities “may not place an item on a ballot, including a municipal charter or charter amendment, that would provide that the local entity will not fully enforce” state drug laws. Read more.
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House Hearing on HB 5082 by Rep. Jeff Leach (R)
On Friday, April 25, the House State Affairs Committee hosted a hearing on Rep. Jeff Leach’s HB 5082. This is the companion bill to Sen. Perry’s SB 1870 (referenced above).
HB 5082 would prohibit certain local entities from adopting policies or laws that limit the enforcement of state or federal drug laws, or placing them on a ballot for an election. The Office of the Attorney General would be authorized to collect civil penalties for violations of the bill.
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