A petition to add a marijuana reform to Dallas' city charter has been certified by the City Secretary. Now, Dallas voters will have the final say.
The petition was started by a group called Ground Game Texas. The organization works to “advance social justice while strengthening” democracy, according to its website. Ground Game Texas calls the charter amendment proposal the “Dallas Freedom Act.”
Part of the amendment would direct the Dallas Police Department to “stop issuing citations or making arrests for Class A or Class B misdemeanor marijuana possession.” Another section prohibits city funds or personnel from being used to conduct testing on “any cannabis-related substance” to figure out if it meets the legal definition of marijuana under state and federal laws.
The amendment language also says that police officers can’t consider the smell of marijuana as probable cause for search and seizure — “except in the limited circumstances of a police investigation.” And the proposal says officers can be punished if they are found to be violating the policy.
The city council won’t have a say in whether Dallas voters end up seeing the amendments.
“Council will vote on these items in mid-August. Legally, Council has no discretion on these matters — we must vote to add the amendments to the Charter package that voters in November will vote on,” District 1 Council Member Chad West said in an email newsletter.
“It will be up to the voters to determine whether or not to support the initiatives.”
West told KERA in a text message that he was happy to see all the support for the issue — and local government in general.
“It’s refreshing to see so many Dallas residents get excited about a policy initiative,” West said. “I appreciate the engagement in and passion for city government and hope they keep it up.”
In June, West along with several other council members said they would introduce a similar charter amendment that would mirror Ground Game’s petition.
“Voters in our city and across the country want to decriminalize marijuana,” West said in June.
“Our already burdened police should focus their attention on serious crime, not arresting people with small amounts of marijuana. Bringing this to voters through a City Council-proposed Charter amendment instead of a petition will save the city time and resources.”
West told KERA at the time that it would be a waste to have the City Secretary spend the time ratifying the petition. So he wanted the council to vote on the marijuana amendment instead. West also said that there was a good chance the city could be sued by the state for the amendment.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has already sued multiple cities including Austin and Denton for passing similar ordinances.
“I will not stand idly by as cities run by pro-crime extremists deliberately violate Texas law and promote the use of illicit drugs that harm our communities,” Paxton wrote in a press release earlier this year.
Along with West, District 7 Council Member Adam Bazaldua, District 5 Council Member Jaime Resendez, first-term Council Member Zarin Gracy, who represents District 3, and former council member Phillip Kingston, also endorsed the upcoming charter amendment proposal.
But at the final meeting before the council left on its July recess, it voted to delay voting on any of the charter amendments.
Now that the petition has been certified, council will vote to add the proposed “Dallas Freedom Act” to the November ballot. Dallas voters will decide whether it passes — or goes up in smoke.
Got a tip? Email Nathan Collins at ncollins@kera.org. You can follow Nathan on Twitter @nathannotforyou.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.
