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Attorney General Ken Paxton of the state of Texas is suing Dallas over its proposal that decriminalizes cannabis in the city. The suit names the defendants as the city council of Dallas; Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, the city’s interim manager; Mayor Eric Johnson; and Michael T. Igo, the city’s interim Chief of Police.
The charter amendment in question, Proposition R, was approved by 67% of voters in the city during elections. It was placed on the ballot by Ground Game Texas, a group focused on advancing social justice while strengthening democracy.
Despite the favorable win, Paxton argued in a press release that cities couldn’t pick and choose which state laws they’d follow. The new charter proposal directs that the state’s department of police stop making arrests for Class A or B misdemeanor cannabis possession and issuing citations for the same.
Another section of the proposal forbids city personnel or funds from being used to carry out testing on any marijuana-related substance to determine whether it meets the legal definition of cannabis under both federal and state laws. In addition to this, it stresses that law enforcement officers cannot consider the smell of cannabis as probable cause for search and seizure.
The amendment notes that police officers who are found to be in violation of this policy shall be punished.
Paxton explained that the city of Dallas had no authority to prohibit law enforcement from enforcing the state’s drug laws, let alone the authority to override these laws. He added that this was an attempt to violate the state’s constitution, noting that any city that tried to constrain law enforcement in this manner would be sued by his office.
The attorney general has already sued other cities like Denton and Austin for approving similar ordinances. Earlier this year, the AG stated in a press release that he would not stand by as cities violated state law deliberately and promoted the use of illegal drugs that harmed communities in Texas.
The city council adopted the election’s results last week, with Council Member Cara Mendelsohn of District 12 moving to add a clause that clarified that if the proposal conflicted with state law, it wouldn’t be enforced until and unless state law changed. Mendelsohn wasn’t successful though, with her motion failing despite her argument that the charter amendment violated state law.
Others that agreed with Mendelsohn included Mayor Eric Johnson of Dallas and Council Member Gay Donnell Willis of District 13.
The wider marijuana industry, including firms like Green Thumb Industries Inc. (CSE: GTII) (OTCQX: GTBIF), is probably not surprised by the efforts of the Attorney General in Texas to attempt to block the progress that is being made by some cities in rolling back marijuana prohibition. Ultimately, those policies will change as more people demand for changes to be made.
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