Houston, TX: Members of the Houston (population: 2.4 million) city council voted last week to place a citizens-initiated marijuana deprioritization ordinance on the November ballot.
Activists affiliated with the group Ground Game Texas gathered over 40,000 signatures from local voters in support of the measure, The Houston Freedom Act. If approved by voters, it instructs the Houston Police Department to “make the enforcement of Class A and Class B misdemeanor marijuana possession its lowest possible enforcement priority.”
State law defines marijuana possession of two ounces or less as a criminal misdemeanor, punishable by up to 180 days in jail, a $2,000 fine, and a criminal record. Since 2018, Texas police have made more than 200,000 marijuana-related arrests. Ninety-six percent of those were for possession only.
Voters in several other Texas cities – including Austin, Dallas, and San Marcos – have approved similar local measures in recent years. However, in 2025, a Texas appellate court issued a pair of rulings halting the implementation of several of those initiatives. Following those rulings, several other cities, including Dallas and Denton, declined to implement the laws.
Additional information is available from Ground Game Texas. Further information on marijuana-related ballot measures is available from NORML Election Central.