{"id":54517,"date":"2022-04-26T10:20:44","date_gmt":"2022-04-26T18:20:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2022\/04\/26\/texas-activists-say-they-have-enough-signatures-to-put-marijuana-decriminalization-on-another-local-ballot\/"},"modified":"2022-04-27T19:47:05","modified_gmt":"2022-04-28T03:47:05","slug":"texas-activists-say-they-have-enough-signatures-to-put-marijuana-decriminalization-on-another-local-ballot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2022\/04\/26\/texas-activists-say-they-have-enough-signatures-to-put-marijuana-decriminalization-on-another-local-ballot\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Activists Say They Have Enough Signatures To Put Marijuana Decriminalization On Another Local Ballot"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Activists in Denton, Texas say they\u2019re confident that they\u2019ve collected enough signatures to place a marijuana decriminalization initiative on the local ballot.<\/p>\n

The group Decriminalize Denton said that it will continue collecting additional petitions until May 3 while it also works to verify the more than 2,500 signatures that have already been gathered. But as of last week, organizers said that it appears that they\u2019ve already netted enough to put the measure before voters in November.<\/p>\n

The campaign plans to submit the signatures to the city in the first week of May. They need 1,745 valid signatures from registered voters for ballot placement.<\/p>\n

\n

ICYMI:
We did it! We have successfully gathered and verified what we believe to be enough petition signatures to qualify for the November election.<\/p>\n

While we continue to finish independently verifying what we have, we will be accepting late signatures through end of day May 3rd!<\/p>\n

\u2014 Decriminalize Denton (@DecrimDenton) April 22, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

Meanwhile, as Denton activists pursue the midterm election in November, the campaign Ground Game Texas successfully put cannabis decriminalization on the Austin ballot<\/a> for next month. Early voting for that local measure started on Monday.<\/p>\n

The Denton petition says that police \u201cshall not issue citations or make arrests for Class A or Class B misdemeanor possession of marijuana offenses, except in the limited circumstances.\u201d\u00a0Those limited circumstances include investigations into violent felony cases.<\/p>\n

Police also couldn\u2019t issue citations or make arrests for class C misdemeanor offenses for drug residue or drug paraphernalia in lieu of a marijuana possession arrest.<\/p>\n

The proposal<\/a> would also make it so city funds could not be expended to test for THC concentration in cannabis products to determine whether it meets the state\u2019s legal definition of legal hemp or illegal marijuana. Law enforcement in Texas has been especially thrown following hemp legalization.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the initiative would prohibit police from using the odor of cannabis alone as\u00a0 \u201cprobable cause for any search or seizure,\u201d with limited exceptions.<\/p>\n

The city would be required to work with the local police department, as well as \u201cother relevant stakeholders,\u201d\u00a0 to educate them about the policy change and inform updated training protocols.<\/p>\n

\n

OFFICIAL UPDATE<\/p>\n

We have successfully hit our “minimum” signature goal of 2,100!<\/p>\n

However, after careful consideration & calculation, we have decided to EXTEND our signature deadline a few days to *ensure* that we have a comfy amt of valid signatures to qualify for the Nov ballot pic.twitter.com\/qeQrF3g71c<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Decriminalize Denton (@DecrimDenton) April 21, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

For what it\u2019s worth, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said in January that he doesn\u2019t believe people should be incarcerated<\/a> over low-level marijuana possession. However, he also incorrectly suggested that lawmakers have already adopted the policy statewide.<\/p>\n

While Austin and other major Texas cities like Dallas have already independently enacted law enforcement policy changes aimed at reducing arrests for cannabis-related offenses by issuing citations and summons, these ballot initiatives would take the reform further.<\/p>\n

Ground Game Texas is also actively working to put marijuana decriminalization on local ballots in Killeen and Harker Heights, and activists in San Marcos began a similar campaign in September.<\/p>\n

There is no statewide, citizen-led initiative process that would enable advocates to put an issue like decriminalization or legalization on the Texas ballot. But at the local level, there are limited cases where activists can leverage home rule laws that allow for policy changes.<\/p>\n

\u2014
\nMarijuana Moment is already tracking more than 1,000 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills<\/a> in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters<\/a> pledging at least $25\/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don\u2019t miss any developments.<\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/a>
\nLearn more about our marijuana bill tracker<\/a> and become a supporter on Patreon<\/a> to get access.
\n\u2014<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

A recent poll found that a strong majority of Texans\u2014including most Republicans\u2014support even broader reform to legalize marijuana<\/a>\u00a0for adult use.<\/p>\n

The survey from the University of Houston and Texas Southern University found that 67 percent of Texas residents back the broad reform. Fifty-one percent of participants who identified as Republican said they back legalization.<\/p>\n

In Texas, drug policy reform did advance in the legislature during last year\u2019s session, but not necessarily at the pace that advocates had hoped to see.<\/p>\n

A bill to\u00a0expand the state\u2019s medical cannabis program<\/a>\u00a0and another to require a study into\u00a0the therapeutic potential of certain psychedelics<\/a>\u00a0for military veterans were enacted.<\/p>\n

Advocates remain disappointed, however, that lawmakers were\u00a0unable to pass more expansive cannabis bills<\/a>\u2014including a decriminalization proposal that cleared the House but saw no action in the Senate.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0House approved a cannabis decriminalization bill<\/a>\u00a0in 2019,\u00a0but it did not advance<\/a>\u00a0in the Senate that session.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Texas Republican Party adopted a platform plank<\/a>\u00a0endorsing decriminalization of marijuana possession in 2018.<\/p>\n

A Texas poll that was released over the summer found that 60 percent of voters in the state\u00a0support making cannabis legal \u201cfor any use.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Separately, the state Supreme Court\u00a0last month heard testimony<\/a>\u00a0in a case concerning the state\u2019s ban on manufacturing smokable hemp products\u2014the latest development in a drawn-out legal battle on the policy first proposed and challenged in 2020.<\/p>\n

\n

U.S. Attorney General Reiterates That Marijuana Enforcement Wastes Department Resources, But Declines To Comment On Formal Guidance<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

The post Texas Activists Say They Have Enough Signatures To Put Marijuana Decriminalization On Another Local Ballot<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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\nRead More: Texas Activists Say They Have Enough Signatures To Put Marijuana Decriminalization On Another Local Ballot<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Activists in Denton, Texas say they\u2019re confident that they\u2019ve collected enough signatures to place a marijuana decriminalization initiative on the local ballot. The group Decriminalize Denton said that it will continue collecting additional petitions until May 3 while it also works to verify the more than 2,500 signatures that haveContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":54518,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54517"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54517"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54517\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54519,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54517\/revisions\/54519"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}