Dallas voters could vote to legalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana in November, according to a new report by The Texas Tribune. This depends on whether the City Council approves the measure in a vote to be held in late June. If passed, it would be the largest city in Texas to sidestep the state law.
Recent polls show that most Texans support some kind of decriminalization, but Texas is one of 26 states that have not fully legalized marijuana at the moment and is not expected to do so any time soon.
A petition supporting the change gained more than 50,000 signatures. It would prevent police from writing tickets or arresting people found with less than four ounces of Marijuana. At the moment, possessing two to four ounces is deemed a class A misdemeanor that can carry a one-year jail term, while holding under two ounces is a class B misdemeanor.
"Voters in our city and across the country want to decriminalize marijuana," said council member Chad West. "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."
Similar measures have been passed in six cities, including Austin and San Marcos. However, some officials have resisted implementing the measures. And state Attorney General Ken Paxton has taken steps to block them from going into effect.
The vote would come on the same year that the Biden administration reclassified marijuana as a less dangerous drug. Concretely, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) moved the drug from Schedule I (the most strict category) to Schedule III. This means the government is acknowledging its potential medical benefits and the start of studies with this purpose.
Rescheduling cannabis means studying it to identify potential medical benefits, as well as the possibility that pharmaceutical companies sell and distribute medical marijuana in the states where it's legal.
President Joe Biden took the first step toward this in October 2022 when he directed the Department of Health and Human Services to review its classification. He also said in this year's State of the Union address that "no one should be jailed for using or possessing marijuana."
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