San Marcos Residents May Face Marijuana Possession Citations Again
A recent ruling by the 15th Court of Appeals has put the city of San Marcos’s marijuana decriminalization ordinance in jeopardy. The ordinance, which was approved by voters in 2022, had prohibited police from issuing citations for marijuana possession of four ounces or less, except in limited circumstances.
However, the appeals court sided with Attorney General Ken Paxton, ruling that the ordinance is not legal because it conflicts with a 1997 state law that requires cities to fully enforce state drug laws. The decision means that San Marcos police will no longer be able to follow the decriminalization ordinance, and residents may face citations or arrests for marijuana possession once again.
The ordinance had been in effect since its passage, resulting in a complete halt to marijuana arrests in the city through the beginning of 2023. However, data from mid-2023 to the present is not available.
Paxton’s lawsuit, which had previously been dismissed by a Hays County judge, will now go to trial. San Marcos officials have stated that police will not continue to follow the decriminalization ordinance until the matter is resolved.
Similar decriminalization ordinances are in place in other Texas cities, including Austin, Elgin, Denton, and Killeen. Paxton has also sued these cities, sparking concerns about the state’s efforts to undermine local progressive policies.
Critics of the appeals court’s decision have accused the state of “judicial gerrymandering” and using the court system to silence progressive policies that are popular with voters. Ground Game Texas, the group that helped get marijuana decriminalization on the ballot in San Marcos, called the ruling a “playbook as old as Jim Crow” and argued that it is proof that the state is not working to make communities safer, but rather to crush people-powered movements.
