Voters in Dallas County voted on Tuesday to decriminalize marijuana. (Photo by Katie Serrano)
Kamala Harris came out for legal weed — again. Will her support help clear up the hazy cannabis scene in Texas?
Editor’s note: This story was updated on Nov. 8 to reflect that residents of three cities — Dallas, Bastrop, and Lockhart — faced votes on whether to decriminalize marijuana.
Vice President Kamala Harris reiterated her support for legalizing cannabis, a blunt move that could boost current efforts for legal weed in Texas.
Voters in four Texas cities, including Dallas, will decide whether to decriminalize cannabis on Nov. 5. Several cities, including Austin and Denton, decriminalized marijuana in recent years.
Harris forcefully supported legalization during an interview with the “All the Smoke” podcast, which was released on Sept. 30.
“I just feel strongly, people should not be going to jail for smoking weed,” Harris told hosts and former NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson. “And we know historically what that has meant and who has gone to jail.”
“Second, I just think we have come to a point where we have to understand that we need to legalize it and stop criminalizing this behavior. Actually this is not a new position for me. I have felt for a long time we need to legalize it. So that’s where I am on that.”
Harris’ support for legalizing cannabis is not new, but her comments to “All the Smoke” mark the first time she’s publicly discussed the issue since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee in August, according to Marijuana Moment. The outlet reports on the politics and culture of cannabis.
In March, Harris called for the legalization of cannabis for the first time since joining the Biden ticket in 2020. In 2019, Harris — then a US Senator — said she supported decriminalization in an ACLU questionnaire she completed as a presidential candidate.
Attendees at the 11th Annual Texas Marijuana March and Freedom Festival on Saturday called attention to the criminalization of cannabis as they gathered outside the Tarrant County Courthouse. (Photo by Katie Serrano)
3 Texas cities to vote on legal weed
Harris’ support comes at a legally confusing time for cannabis in Texas.
Recreational marijuana remains illegal, though hemp with high levels of THC — the psychoactive compound in pot that gets you high — abounds in cities across the state. The federal Farm Bill in 2018 legalized the commercial production of hemp and Texas lawmakers, in 2019, passed House Bill 1325, which allows the production and sale of industrial and consumable hemp crops and products in the state.
Thanks to loose state regulation and creative hemp producers, hemp products with levels of THC higher than the legal limit of 0.3% can be found in dispensaries and other retail stores across Texas — in drinks, gummies and more.
Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued to stop the five cities — Austin, San Marcos, Killeen, Elgin and Denton — that decriminalized pot in 2022. He lost. Paxton sued again, this time trying to block the sale of the intoxicating hemp products. A fresh round of briefs on the case are due to the Texas Supreme Court on Nov. 12.
In Texas cities that decriminalized marijuana, hundreds of people were kept out of jail, according to a study from Ground Game Texas released in November. The municipal votes also increased turnout among Black voters and people ages 18 to 29, the organization found.
Other local jurisdictions across the state, including Harris County, Bexar County, and El Paso, won’t arrest people for petty marijuana offenses but will instead issue tickets, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. The group lobbies for decriminalizing marijuana.
On Nov. 5, voters in Dallas, Bastrop, and Lockhart will decide whether to decriminalize marijuana. The Dallas Freedom Act would prohibit Dallas police from charging people with misdemeanor possession of marijuana, unless the offense is part of a felony narcotics investigation, or using the odor of marijuana or hemp as probable cause for searches or seizures, according to Ground Game Texas. The measure also bans the use of city funds for THC testing unless it’s part of a felony case.
Despite the upcoming ballot measures — and the growing public acceptance of weed in some areas of the state — federal and state law enforcement continue to arrest consumers and raid dispensaries. In August, the Allen Police Department, Collin County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration arrested several people as officers raided nine hemp shops accused of selling products with illegal amounts of THC, according to the Dallas Observer.
In September, Houston-area constables raided THC Club, a cannabis company with 18 locations across Harris County, according to ABC 13. Nine people were arrested and face charges of selling marijuana and money laundering.
