A Texas judge has ruled that a local marijuana decriminalization law approved by Dallas voters last year can continue to be implemented— denying a request from the Republican state attorney general that sought to temporarily block the reform as a lawsuit proceeds.
On Friday, 134th Civil District Court Judge Dale Tillery denied a motion for temporary injunction from Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) that aims to undermine the local law by allowing continued enforcement of cannabis criminalization in the state’s third most populous city.
The one-page order from the judge states: “Upon consideration of the pleadings, the application, responses, evidence, and oral arguments presented, if any, the Court finds that the application is hereby DENIED.”
This doesn’t mean the lawsuit from Paxton is dead altogether. But, at least for the time being, the judge has determined that the decriminalization policy can continue as the litigation unfolds.
In a press release following the judge’s order, Dallas City Councilmember Adam Bazaldua said “voters gave us a mandate last year—over two-thirds voted in favor of misdemeanor marijuana decriminalization.”
“It is not for the Texas attorney general to try to overrule that vote,” he said. “Black and brown residents had been disproportionately criminalized in our city for the possession of a substance that’s legal in over half the country. Voters quite reasonably chose to end that injustice, and to allow law enforcement to focus on more serious issues. I applaud Judge Tillery’s decision to let the law remain in effect while the case proceeds.”
Catina Voellinger, executive director of Ground Game Texas, which has organized numerous local reform campaigns in recent years, called the judge’s ruling “a victory for the democratic process,” adding that “the attorney general should not be able to overturn the people’s vote.”
“We crafted the Dallas Freedom Act to comply with state law, and it would have done real harm to the city to put a stop to its enforcement while this case makes its way through the court,” she said. This law allows Dallas residents to breathe easier, without the fear of being needlessly criminalized for merely possessing personal use amounts of marijuana.”
This comes about a month after the Dallas Police Department 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.
Paxton had filed a lawsuit with the intent to invalidate the law just weeks after the November vote. It’s one of several examples of the state official attempting to leverage the court system to reverse local cannabis reform efforts.
Numerous Texas cities have enacted local decriminalization laws in recent years, and, last January, the attorney general similarly sought to block the reform in Austin, San Marcos, Killeen, Elgin and Denton.
State district judges dismissed two of the lawsuits—which argue that state law prohibiting marijuana preempts the local policies—in Austin and San Marcos. The city of Elgin reached a settlement, with the local government pointing out that decriminalization was never implemented there despite voter approval of the initiative.
Dallas lawmakers formally put the marijuana decriminalization initiative on the ballot in August after activists turned in sufficient petitions for the reform. Cannabis icon and music legend Willie Nelson had urged Dallas voters to pass the marijuana measure.
Prior to last August’s vote on ballot placement, some members of the Dallas City Council had expressed interest in streamlining the process of decriminalizing cannabis by acting legislatively, but plans to introduce the proposal at a hearing in June did not materialize, leaving the matter to voters.
Here’s what the Dallas law accomplishes:
- The measure prevents police from making arrests or issuing citations for Class A or B misdemeanor cannabis possession offenses, unless it’s part of a high priority felony investigation for narcotics or violent crime.
- Further, it says “Dallas police shall not consider the odor of marijuana or hemp to constitute probable cause for any search or seizure.”
- The city manager and chief of police is required to prepare quarterly reports on the implementation of the policy change, with information about any marijuana possession arrests or citations that must be submitted to the Dallas City Council.
Also at the ballot last November, voters in the Texas cities of Lockhart and Bastrop similarly elected to pass local decriminalization ordinances.
Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has lashed out against the municipal cannabis reform efforts.
“Local communities such as towns, cities and counties, they don’t have the authority to override state law,” the governor said in May “If they want to see a different law passed, they need to work with their legislators. Let’s legislate to work to make sure that the state, as a state, will pass some of the law.”
He said it would lead to “chaos” and create an “unworkable system” for voters in individual cities to be “picking and choosing” the laws they want abide by under state statute.
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.
That said, low-level marijuana possession would be decriminalized in Texas if a new bill filed this week by a key House leader is enacted.
Paxton had used more inflammatory rhetoric when his office announced that it was suing the five cities over their local laws decriminalizing marijuana, vowing to overrule the “anarchy” of “pro-crime extremists” who advocated for the reform.
In 2023, Ground Game released a report that looked at the impacts of the marijuana reform laws. It found that the measures will keep hundreds of people out of jail, even as they have led to blowback from law enforcement in some cities. The initiatives have also driven voter turnout by being on the ballot, the report said.
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.
—
Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.
Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.
—
Meanwhile, Rep. Joe Moody (D)’s marijuana decriminalization bill for the 2025 session is the latest of nearly two dozen cannabis-related proposals filed so far in Texas for the current legislative session. Various other measures would legalize adult-use marijuana, prohibit certain hemp-derived products, remove criminal penalties for cannabis possession and adjust the state’s existing medical marijuana laws, among others.
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 Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), who presides over the chamber.
Patrick last year directed a Senate committee last year to examine issues around beverages containing THC and prepare legislation that would ban the sale of intoxicating hemp products.
The lieutenant governor recently emphasized a survey result showing that more than half (55 percent) of Texans want the state to rein its largely unregulated market for hemp-derived THC. But he simultaneously ignored the survey’s other findings: that even more Texans want the state to legalize and regulate marijuana for both medical and adult use.
The polling, from the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs, found that nearly 4 in 5 (79 percent) Texans support legalizing the sale and use of medical marijuana with a doctor’s recommendation, while more than 3 in 5 (62 percent) support legalizing and regulating an adult-use cannabis market.
Almost 7 in 10 (69 percent), meanwhile, said they think the state should decriminalize marijuana for personal use.
There is bipartisan support in the survey for each of the reforms.
What Patrick’s comments got right is that most Texans think laws around cannabis need to change: Only 22 percent of those surveyed favored keeping the state’s marijuana laws as they are.
Patrick has targeted hemp-derived THC repeatedly during his time in office, most recently by including legislation that would ban the products in his list of priority bills. And he endorsed past legislation that would ban all forms of consumable THC in the state.
Read the Texas district court judge’s order in the Dallas marijuana decriminalization case below:
Photo elements courtesy of rawpixel and Philip Steffan.
Marijuana Moment is made possible with support from readers. If you rely on our cannabis advocacy journalism to stay informed, please consider a monthly Patreon pledge.
