While not the powerhouse of legalization that the 2020 election was, the 2022 midterm elections were still historic for cannabis reform nevertheless.
The Dakotas and Arkansas will continue to have full legal cannabis prohibition for now. Recreational cannabis bills passed in both Missouri and Maryland. Especially in Missouri where Republicans hold 24 of the 34 State Senate seats and 114 of the 163 seats in the House of Representatives. The passing of Constitutional Amendment 3 shows that cannabis reform is increasingly becoming a bipartisan-supported issue. Even in the states that didn’t pass their cannabis reform bills such as South Dakota, the bill only lost by five percent or about 20,000 voters in total, not nearly as large of a margin as Arkansas.
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And although everyone’s favorite conservative talk radio host-turned-Lt. Governor Dan Patrick will kill any cannabis reform measures as long as he holds the second-in-command throne that he does, there were still monumental battles won for the reform of cannabis policing and prosecuting. In college towns across the Lone Star State where cannabis use is fairly common such as Denton and San Marcos, each town passed their bill that ensures college students won’t have their lives and promising futures ruined over a low-level cannabis possession charge.
In the months leading up to the 2022 midterms, Texas Cannabis Collective has spoken with Tristan Seikel of Decriminalize Denton and has diligently been following the other measures on the ballot in towns throughout Texas. Through the diligent work of Decriminalize Denton and several other groups of strong advocates, Proposition B passed overwhelmingly. Gaining 71 percent of the vote against a 28.6 percent opposition, Dentonites wanted cannabis reform in The Home of Happiness.
“It’s an incredibly rewarding experience to see us go full circle on a policy that has hurt so many people I know, myself being one of those people, throughout my time in Denton. It’s a very fulfilling experience to finally have the affirmation from the rest of our community that this was the right course of action.
This vote proves that this is what the majority of Dentonites want for their community.”
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Seikel reports that there is still some opposition to the newly passed proposition by Denton Police, as they argue that their “officer discretion” program of giving someone a class C misdemeanor charge (equivalent to a parking ticket) for cannabis as opposed to an arrestable offense.
“This is definitely an unprecedented and defiant response from the city administration. But we’re confident that with the majority of Denton voters backing this, we’re in a very strong place to advocate for the full implementation of this ordinance.”
Although the votes have clearly shown massive support for cannabis reform in Denton, there may still be some hurdles that Proposition B will face in the path of implementation.
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Seikel reports that there is still pushback from Denton law enforcement despite the bill being passed by an overwhelming majority. Still, Denton police feel that the current measure of Class C misdemeanor citations based on officer discretion instead of full arrestable Class B convictions will more than suffice.
As the City of Denton government points out on its website, the proposition may clash with existing state law, and that a review of the provisions of the proposition will need to be conducted.
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“This review is necessary,” explained the city government’s website, “since Chapter 370.003 of the Texas Local Government Code prohibits the City Council and Police Department from adopting a policy that does not fully enforce state and federal laws relating to drugs, including marijuana, as well as the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure which vests police officers with the authority and duty to enforce state law, including the possession of marijuana. Because portions of Proposition B conflict with and may be superseded by existing state and federal laws, some provisions of the ordinance may not be implemented without changes to those laws by the United States Congress and Texas Legislature.”
Furthermore, Dentonites and Texas residents in cities that implemented similar measures should be fully aware that all of Texas’ other cannabis-related policies are still fully enforced. As cannabis distillate is considered a cannabis extract, possession of a single vape cartridge is considered a felony and edible products such as brownies will be prosecuted by total weight as opposed to just the weight of the cooked THC. If a cannabis consumer was caught with a pound of brownies, it would legally be considered possession of a pound of THC which is considered a felony.
The measures passed in the five respective Texas cities set a precedent of the Texas government and an alternative legislative way to large-scale cannabis reform in The Lone Star State. Instead of having to wait for a gridlocked Legislature with a dictatorial lieutenant governor at the helm who refuses any cannabis reform of the slightest due to Texas’ lack of ballot initiative on the state level, individual citizens may now collect signatures, possibly get an initiative on the next ballot and even change the laws of their communities.
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While statewide decriminalization will still need a bill passed in the Texas Legislature and signed by a Texas governor (who will be Abbott until at least 2026), local governments may be able to pass decriminalization measures in places just like those passed in Denton and four other towns across Texas. Especially in a state where constituents are essentially reliant upon their legislators for statewide reforms, many citizens may not realize that they hold such power on the local level.
“We don’t believe local police should be the only people implementing change.” Seikel explained. “We believe the people want more than to cite and release and the people have clearly spoken about this issue.”
For future measures that could be passed, Seikel recommends a series of steps. Naturally, the first step would be using your democratic power and voting in representatives and City Council members who are supportive of cannabis reform. If someone is in a city with a home rule charter, then starting a ballot initiative will be very possible and well within the rights of any dedicated citizen.
“Unless you’re dealing with a very small community, you’re really going to have to partner up with other organizations that also have a lot of support. With Tuesday’s results in hand, I think we’ve never been in a stronger position for cannabis decriminalization in Denton. It’s the law of the land now, so we need to make sure city officials follow it.”