Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Dallas over a weed decriminalization ballot measure that voters approved with nearly 67% of the vote on Nov. 5. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton continues his war on weed, though his lawsuits earlier this year to block pot decriminalization flopped.
Sue, sue again.
That’s the motto of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who sued the city of Dallas after voters easily approved decriminalizing small amounts of weed. He announced the suit, filed in Dallas County District Court, on Thursday.
“Cities cannot pick and choose which State laws they follow,” Paxton said in a press release. “The City of Dallas has no authority to override Texas drug laws or prohibit the police from enforcing them. This is a backdoor attempt to violate the Texas Constitution, and any city that tries to constrain police in this fashion will be met swiftly with a lawsuit by my office.”
Proposition R, or the Dallas Freedom Act, passed on Nov. 5 with nearly 67% of the vote. On Tuesday, the Dallas City Council certified the election results — though after Mayor Eric Johnson and two council members tried to stall the weed decriminalization.
The proposition prohibits Dallas police from charging people with misdemeanor possession of marijuana if they have 4 ounces or less, 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. The measure also bans the use of city funds for THC testing unless it’s part of a felony case. City officials are required to report to the city council quarterly on implementation of the proposition.
Ground Game Texas, the nonprofit that worked to get the measure before voters, also included a clause to make misdemeanor marijuana possession the lowest enforcement priority of the Dallas Police Department if a court strikes down the decriminalization portion of Prop R. That was a preemptive move against Paxton, who has sued other cities where voters approved decriminalization measures.
Catina Voellinger, executive director of Ground Game Texas, described Prop R as “democracy in action.”
“It’s unfortunate but not surprising that Attorney General Ken Paxton has apparently chosen to waste everyone’s time and money by filing yet another baseless lawsuit against marijuana decriminalization,” Voellinger said in a statement to Courier Texas.
In announcing his latest lawsuit, Paxton bragged that in January he sued five cities for adopting weed decriminalization, incorrectly claiming that the policies “promote crime, drug abuse, and violence.” Yet Paxton didn’t mention that he lost.
A city of Dallas spokesperson said the city is aware of the lawsuit but declined further comment about it on Thursday.
