A Texas city joins Austin in taking up weed decriminalization
“People are just learning more about the discretion that localities have, and therefore — for lack of a better term — taking advantage of stopping the bleeding, stopping the harms, where we can, when we can, while we wait for the Legislature to catch up with the will of the people,” said Jax James, the executive director of Texas NORML, a nonprofit that advocates for marijuana decriminalization.
Possession of marijuana, depending on the quantity, is at least a Class B misdemeanor in Texas, punishable by up to six months in jail and a $2,000 fine., have diversion policies that allow those charged with possessing small amounts of the drug to avoid arrest and other penalties. The Texas House of Representatives advanced a decriminalization bill in 2019, but Patrick killed the measure in the upper chamber.The lieutenant governor has also opposed local efforts to legalize the drug.
“The lieutenant governor has said repeatedly regarding sanctuary cities that he does not believe that law enforcement has the discretion to choose what laws to enforce and what laws to ignore,” Patrick’s press secretary said at the time.
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