{"id":69082,"date":"2023-10-03T10:57:22","date_gmt":"2023-10-03T18:57:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2023\/10\/03\/lubbock-could-become-texass-most-populous-city-to-decriminalize-marijuana-with-activists-nearing-ballot-signature-submission\/"},"modified":"2023-10-04T19:47:04","modified_gmt":"2023-10-05T03:47:04","slug":"lubbock-could-become-texass-most-populous-city-to-decriminalize-marijuana-with-activists-nearing-ballot-signature-submission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2023\/10\/03\/lubbock-could-become-texass-most-populous-city-to-decriminalize-marijuana-with-activists-nearing-ballot-signature-submission\/","title":{"rendered":"Lubbock Could Become Texas\u2019s Most Populous City To Decriminalize Marijuana, With Activists Nearing Ballot Signature Submission"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

\u201cOur senior populations use it for chronic pain, veterans use it for post-traumatic stress, people who have cancer use it as they go through chemo. There\u2019s all sorts of uses for it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

By Jayme Lozano Carver, The Texas Tribune<\/strong><\/p>\n

Giselle Ramirez left work on a recent Tuesday afternoon and went straight to the north side of town. For more than three hours in 97 degree heat, she asked grocery shoppers to help her decriminalize marijuana.<\/p>\n

Ramirez is volunteering for Lubbock Compact, a local advocacy group working on the cause. The group picked that grocery store location specifically\u2014they say most marijuana arrests are in north and east Lubbock, where the residents are mostly Black and Hispanic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m doing this to help my community stay out of jail for marijuana,\u201d Ramirez said. \u201cI don\u2019t believe anyone should go to jail for mota, our city has bigger problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

The campaign to decriminalize recreational marijuana in Lubbock is the latest in a long struggle for cannabis supporters in the Lone Star State, which, unlike neighboring states, has long resisted legalizing the drug. If the suggested change becomes local law, Lubbock would be the largest Texas city to decriminalize the drug through the petition process.<\/p>\n

Without statewide legalization for recreational use, some Texans have sought to at least decriminalize it. Residents in Denton, Killeen, Elgin, San Marcos and Harker Heights all approved ballot measures<\/a> banning arrests and citations for carrying less than four ounces of marijuana in most instances. However, the local city councils have declined to put the voter-approved rules in place. And Bell County, which includes Killeen, has sued to block the change<\/a> from going into effect.<\/p>\n

Lubbock residents are familiar with the process of changing city rules by ballot initiatives. In 2021, Lubbockites overwhelmingly approved a so-called sanctuary city policy that sought to outlaw abortion in the city limits. It\u2019s unclear whether those voters would support the marijuana decriminalization policy.<\/p>\n

Marijuana has been a point of contention in Texas. Lawmakers have gone as far as legalizing medical marijuana<\/a> but have drawn the line when it comes to recreational use or lowering penalties for possession.<\/p>\n

There have been efforts to change state law. Some bills, such as House Bill 218<\/a>, a legislative push by Rep. Joe Moody<\/a> (D-El Paso) to reduce the penalty for possessing one ounce of marijuana and allow for convictions to be expunged in certain cases, was approved by the House. But the bill later died in the Senate.<\/p>\n

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott<\/a> has been a vocal supporter<\/a> of lowering penalties for marijuana possession, arguing that the state\u2019s jails are already overcrowded.<\/p>\n

At a campaign event last year, Abbott said<\/a> he believes \u201cprison and jail is a place for dangerous criminals who may harm others, and small possession of marijuana is not the type of violation that we want to stockpile jails with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Republican voters appear split on the issue\u2014a recent University of Texas\/Texas Politics Project poll<\/a> shows only 33 percent support \u201cless strict\u201d laws, while 32 percent think the laws should be \u201cmore strict.\u201d Overall, 51 percent of Texans in the same poll say the state\u2019s marijuana laws should be less strict. The February poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percent.<\/p>\n

In West Texas, Lubbock Compact started the Freedom Act Lubbock<\/a> petition in August and has until October 18 to get 4,800 signatures by registered voters, with a goal of 7,500 in case some signatures are ineligible. With just under three weeks to go, the group is nearly there with an estimated 6,000 signatures.<\/p>\n

If the petition is successful, the city council must vote to accept the group\u2019s proposal to decriminalize marijuana or reject it. If the council rejects the change\u2014which Lubbock Compact leaders think is likely\u2014the petition organizers can put it on the 2024 ballot for voters to decide.<\/p>\n

City officials declined to comment for this story.<\/p>\n

Adam Hernandez, communications chair for Lubbock Compact, said decriminalizing marijuana would be a step forward for the city of more than 260,000 people. The group, along with Ground Game Texas, a nonprofit organization that focuses on mobilizing voters, collected data showing disparities in how Lubbock police enforce marijuana-related crimes.<\/p>\n

According to the report<\/a>, Black residents account for 8 percent of Lubbock residents and Latinos make up 37 percent of the population. However, 29 percent of marijuana arrests are Black residents and 49 percent are Latinos.<\/p>\n

Data also shows that about 52 percent of all marijuana arrests since 2018 involve people 25 years old or younger.<\/p>\n

The report calls on the city to address the disparities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese findings should require Lubbock to reevaluate its marijuana enforcement priorities and implement a more common sense, equitable and just enforcement for all residents,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n

Even though young people of color are the ones being arrested in most cases, Hernandez suggested many people in Lubbock use marijuana.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur senior populations use it for chronic pain, veterans use it for post-traumatic stress, people who have cancer use it as they go through chemo,\u201d Hernandez said. \u201cThere\u2019s all sorts of uses for it. If people could educate themselves on that, they may find they have friends and family who may be using it for something.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the ordinance wins approval, it should lead to updated training for law enforcement, but it would not change how police deal with juveniles who are caught with marijuana, Hernandez said.<\/p>\n

The effort in Lubbock to change city policy comes as state lawmakers have sought to stop cities from enacting policies they say go beyond state law.<\/a> In Texas, cities with more than 5,000 people long have had the power to write their own policies. The new state law puts restrictions on some policy areas.<\/p>\n

Charelle Lett, a legal expert with the Texas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the decriminalization policy should stand if adopted.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs long as the ordinance isn\u2019t prohibited by state or federal law, which to my knowledge, there isn\u2019t a prohibition on decriminalizing marijuana in Texas so far,\u201d Lett explained, \u201cthen they may have a good chance of getting this to pass.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lett echoed Hernandez\u2019s sentiment, saying decriminalizing would have a big impact on Black and Latino communities that feel over-policed, and for the people being heard by city leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of the time, people in high places forget to listen to the community they are so-called serving,\u201d Lett said. \u201cNobody knows what a community needs better than the community itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since the petition started, Lubbock Compact and their volunteers have registered more than 150 new voters. And residents in nearby cities have expressed interest in replicating the effort for their towns.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve heard from people in Wolfforth, Levelland, Slaton and many more who want to see if they can do this too,\u201d Ramirez said. \u201cThe decriminalizing movement is only going to continue to grow until we get marijuana legalized, which is what the majority of Texans want.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story was first published by the Texas Tribune.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The Texas Tribune<\/a> is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans \u2014 and engages with them \u2014 about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

\n

A Lawyer Is Suing The Feds For A Copy Of The Biden Administration\u2019s Marijuana Rescheduling Letter<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

The post Lubbock Could Become Texas\u2019s Most Populous City To Decriminalize Marijuana, With Activists Nearing Ballot Signature Submission<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


\n
\nRead More: Lubbock Could Become Texas\u2019s Most Populous City To Decriminalize Marijuana, With Activists Nearing Ballot Signature Submission<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cOur senior populations use it for chronic pain, veterans use it for post-traumatic stress, people who have cancer use it as they go through chemo. There\u2019s all sorts of uses for it.\u201d By Jayme Lozano Carver, The Texas Tribune Giselle Ramirez left work on a recent Tuesday afternoon and wentContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":457,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69082"}],"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\/457"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69082"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69082\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69083,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69082\/revisions\/69083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}