Houston voters will decide Proposition A on November 3, a city charter amendment that would make Class A and Class B misdemeanor marijuana possession the Houston Police Department’s lowest enforcement priority and would bar the department from requesting, participating in or executing no-knock warrants, KPRC 2 reports.
The measure would not legalize marijuana in Houston, would not change Texas law making possession illegal, and would not apply to other law enforcement agencies operating in the area.
Ground Game Texas, which gathered signatures to put the amendment on the ballot, argues it would reduce low level marijuana arrests and would put the policy in writing rather than leaving it to each administration. Houston Police Officers Union President Douglas Griffith and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office oppose it, arguing that existing diversion programs already handle these cases. The two sides disagree about how many low level marijuana arrests the department actually makes, so no arrest figure is given here.
Kingwood sits inside Houston city limits, so Kingwood voters will see Proposition A on their ballot.
