Despite warnings from police not to decriminalize marijuana, voters in a Democratic stronghold in Texas voted to do so anyway.
With 66% support, voters in Dallas supported Proposition R, which amends the city charter to decriminalize possession of four ounces or less of the drug, reported local outlets.
The moves makes going after offenders the lowest priority for the Dallas Police Department.
The city’s police chief pleaded with citizens in August not to do it, saying that the law would help drugs dealers, not casual drugs users.
‘And who prospers: drug dealers and drug houses prosper– drug houses and dealers that are already tarnishing the quality of life in our most at-risk neighborhoods,’ former police chief Eddie Garcia said in August.
Former Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia publicly warned against decriminalizing marijuana, arguing that the move would make going after drug dealers more difficult
He held up a huge plastic bag filled with the narcotic, showing Dallas’ city council exactly what that amount of pot looks like.
‘Four ounces is approximately 113 grams, which equates to 113 dime bags,’ Garcia explained, adding that amount equals 138 drug transactions.
The city’s top cop linked pot to 17 murders in Dallas in 2023 and 12 this year.
‘The conversation pertaining to marijuana is not victimless,’ he said. ‘Not only will it lead to increased traffic at drug houses in our most vulnerable neighborhoods, but in my 32 years in law enforcement– in my opinion– could lead to increased illegal sales.’
The measure ended up on the Nov. 5 ballot after a group called Dallas Action gathered 20,000 signatures– requiring the prop to go in front of voters.
Dallas’ police chief linked dozens of murders in the city to marijuana sales
Prop R’s approval means police in Dallas will make prosecuting drug offenders caught with 4 ounces of pot the lowest priority
Texas attorney general Ken Paxton has sued several Texas cities who have tried to pass similar law decriminalizing pot
‘Our jail is full of people arrested for misdemeanor arrests,’ Changa Higgins with Dallas Action told the local Fox station earlier this year.
‘When you look at misdemeanor possession of marijuana, it’s no different.’
Similar measures have been successfully passes in Austin, San Marcos, Killeen, and Denton by the same group.
However, state Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued to those cities, saying the measures cannot become law as they violate Lone Star Sate law.
