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A coalition of advocacy groups announced on Tuesday that they will be launching a signature drive to put an initiative to decriminalize marijuana, prevent the enforcement of abortion-related \u201ccrimes\u201d and ban no-knock warrants on the San Antonio ballot next spring.<\/p>\n
The San Antonio Justice Charter Initiative is being spearheaded by the group Act 4 SA, with support from Ground Game Texas, SA Stands and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC).<\/p>\n
It\u2019s one of the latest iterations of the local cannabis reform movement in the Lone Star State, where voters will be deciding on decriminalization at the ballot next month<\/a> in Denton, Elgin, Harker Heights, Killeen and San Marcos. Ground Game also led those more narrowly tailored initiatives.<\/p>\n The text of the measure says that \u201cit is the policy of the City of San Antonio to use its available resources and authority to accomplish three goals of paramount importance: first, to reduce the City\u2019s contribution to mass incarceration; second, to mitigate racially discriminatory law enforcement practices; and third, to save scarce public resources for greater public needs.\u201d<\/p>\n BIG NEWS! New campaign in San Antonio w\/@Act4SATX<\/a> for a Justice Charter!<\/p>\n We\u2019re collecting 35K signatures to be the 1st Texas city to \u2014 GroundGameTX (@GroundGameTX) October 18, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n For the cannabis section of the initiative<\/a>, it stipulates that \u201cSan Antonio police officers shall not issue citations or make arrests for Class A or Class B misdemeanor possession of marijuana offenses,\u201d with limited exceptions.<\/p>\n It also says that police can\u2019t \u201cconsider the odor of marijuana or hemp to constitute probable cause for any search or seizure.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo 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,\u201d it continues<\/a>.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Additionally, the measure<\/a> would prevent law enforcement from criminalizing abortion, executing no-knock warrants and using chokeholds against suspects.<\/p>\n Under the proposal, the city would further be required to appoint a \u201cJustice Director\u201d to fulfill three policy priorities: reduce mass incarceration, mitigate racial disparities in law enforcement practices and \u201csave scarce public resources for greater public needs.\u201d<\/p>\n Activists will need to collect at least 20,000 valid signatures from registered voters by early January. The groups said they plan to submit a minimum of 35,000 signatures to ensure placement for the May 2023 ballot.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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,\u201d Julie Oliver, executive director of Ground Game Texas, said in a press release.<\/p>\n \u201cWe look forward to San Antonio becoming a model for improving public safety and protecting basic rights through direct democracy,\u201d Oliver said.<\/p>\n \u201cAcross the community we have heard the same thing from community members: They want to reduce overcrowding in the jails, stop dangerous policing practices that harm community and officers alike, prioritize city resources for greater public safety needs, and implement programs that can be rehabilitative and address crime prevention\u2014just like cite and release does by lowering the re-offender rate,\u201d ACT 4 SA Executive Director Ananda Tomas said<\/a>.<\/p>\n San Antonio Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez welcomed the news of the citizen initiative, urging residents to sign the petition.<\/p>\n Yes! Yes! YES! <\/p>\n If you are a registered voter in San Antonio, let\u2019s get you signed on to the petition \u2014 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (@theloserteacher) October 18, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n \u00a0<\/p>\n ACT 4 SA says that it\u2019s confident that the multifaceted initiative will pass, citing internal polling that shows support for each of the measure\u2019s planks. The initiative\u2019s overall support stands at 67 percent, according<\/a> to San Antonio Reports.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Texas voters in five cities will have the chance to enact local cannabis decriminalization next month following successful signature drives headed by Ground Game Texas, which also put the reform on Austin\u2019s May ballot this year. Voters strongly approved that measure<\/a>.<\/p>\n There is no statewide, citizen-led initiative process that would enable advocates to put an issue like marijuana 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 On the same day that the Austin initiative was certified, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said that he doesn\u2019t believe people should be incarcerated<\/a>\u00a0over low-level marijuana possession.<\/p>\n A poll released last year found that a strong majority of Texans\u2014including most Republicans\u2014support even broader reform to legalize marijuana<\/a> for adult use. A separate survey released in June found that cannabis legalization is more popular in Texas<\/a>\u00a0than the state\u2019s top elected officials and President Joe Biden.<\/p>\n House Speaker Dade Phelan (R) said last month that he will work to enact criminal justice reform in the 2023 session<\/a>, and he again expressed support for lowering penalties for marijuana possession.<\/p>\n \u2014 Drug policy reform did advance in the state 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\u00a0heard testimony in March<\/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 White House Drug Czar Says Marijuana \u2018Clearly\u2019 Has Medical Value And Scheduling Review Must Follow Science<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Texas Activists Unveil Marijuana Decriminalization, Police Reform And Abortion Rights Initiative For San Antonio 2023 Ballot<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A coalition of advocacy groups announced on Tuesday that they will be launching a signature drive to put an initiative to decriminalize marijuana, prevent the enforcement of abortion-related \u201ccrimes\u201d and ban no-knock warrants on the San Antonio ballot next spring. The San Antonio Justice Charter Initiative is being spearheaded byContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":57630,"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\/57629"}],"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=57629"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57629\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57631,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57629\/revisions\/57631"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
1) decriminalize weed
2) decriminalize abortion!
3) adopt cite & release
4) ban chokeholds &
5) ban no-knock warrants!https:\/\/t.co\/OYtnhHdyJA<\/a><\/p>\n\n
![\"👌🏽\"](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/1f44c-1f3fd.png\")
https:\/\/t.co\/4Kd6LkXty2<\/a><\/p>\n
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\nRead More: Texas Activists Unveil Marijuana Decriminalization, Police Reform And Abortion Rights Initiative For San Antonio 2023 Ballot<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"