Texas activists say they have submitted more than enough signatures to put a local decriminalization initiative in the city Lubbock on the ballot if legislators there don’t enact this reform.
The committee that backed the initiative submitted the Freedom Act Lubbock Ordinance to the city secretary for the first time in August. On Tuesday, they collected 10,540 signatures. The committee behind the initiative submitted 10,540 valid signatures on Tuesday.
Adam Hernandez, Communications Chair for Lubbock Compact said, “This was a collaborative effort that would not have been possible without more than forty volunteers and many other citizens who helped us collect petition signatures, and did the necessary notarizing and tallying, and verifying work,” at a news conference held at Citizens Tower, an office of the city government.
Hernandez stated, “But this is just the beginning.” He said that the next step is up to every Lubbock citizen. “We need everyone, but especially those who have not voted in the past, to register and make their voice heard at the polling station.”
The campaign announced last week that they had reached their signature collection goal, but would continue to petition until Tuesday to ensure enough valid submissions were received and ” to show city leaders the amount of support this petition has.”
Ground Game Texas, which has been at the forefront of several successful local decriminalization initiatives throughout Texas and is advising the Lubbock initiative, released a Report recently, with data that showed thousands of arrests for cannabis in the city and how Black and Brown people were disproportionately affected by this criminalization, despite similar rates of marijuana use.
The report shows that while Black people make up only eight percent of the population, they are responsible for 29 percent marijuana arrests.
The Lubbock marijuana campaign operates under a two-part ballot initiative. The first step would be for the City Council to consider the issue if activists had enough valid signatures. If the legislators do not decriminalize, then the proposal will be put to the voters for a vote.
Hernandez told Marijuana Moment that in August, activists “fully expect” lawmakers to vote against the reform due to the “political atmosphere” in the conservative city. However, it would be “great” if it were implemented in a surprising move.
If the initiative passes, the local police will not be able to arrest or cite adults who are in possession of four ounces or less of cannabis unless a court order is issued by a state or federal authority. In the event that this does occur, the initiative states the “City policy shall be enforcement of Class B and A misdemeanors marijuana possession as its lowest enforcement priority.”
The measure’s text states that the goal is to “promote health, safety and general welfare for the people of Lubbock.” It also aims to “carefully allocate scarce city resources and reduce the risk of unfair enforcement practices while focusing the city resources on public safety issues of highest priority.”
Lubbock will be the second-largest city in Texas by population to implement the reform. Ground Game Texas led the reform in cities such as Austin and Delton.
The decriminalization proposal that was put before San Antonio voters in May, and which included provisions that would prevent the enforcement of abortion restrictions, was defeated by a large majority.
In certain jurisdictions, where decriminalization was approved by voters, advocates have had to deal with issues.
The city council rescinded the ordinance shortly after Harker Heights voters approved it, citing concerns that the measure was in conflict with state law. activists collected enough signatures to repeal the repeal of May’s repeal.
Killeen City Council temporarily suspended the implementation of the local voter-approved marijuana ordinance. They argued that there were some legal concerns that legislators needed to work through before they gave it their approval. This was eventually done. Bell County sued the policy in April.
The Texas House of Representatives this session passed a number of bills that would decriminalize cannabis, allow expungements, and give chronic pain patients access to medical cannabis as a substitute for opioids. But the Senate ultimately blocked the bills, which was a common theme in cannabis reform in the conservative legislative body over the past several sessions.
In 2021 and 2019, the House adopted similar proposals for decriminalizing cannabis.
A Texas Democratic Senator brought marijuana legalization up on the Senate floor in May. He was trying to attach an amendment to a resolution that had nothing to do with the issue, allowing Texans the opportunity to vote at the polls to end prohibition. The symbolic proposal was eventually shut down. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), in agreement with another member, agreed that the cannabis amendment was not relevant to the larger legislation.
According to a University of Texas/Texas Politics Project survey conducted last year, nearly 3 out of 4 Texas voters (72%) support decriminalizing cannabis. Over half (55%) of respondents said they support a broader legalization. Seventeen percent of respondents said that it should not be legalized at all.
The same institution also showed in March that a majority felt that state marijuana laws should “be less strict”.
The Virginia election next month could set the stage for legal marijuana sales–or a rollback of reform–depending on which party wins
The first time Marijuana Moment was published, the post Texas activists submit signatures to put marijuana decriminalization on Lubbock Ballot.
