Marley Malenfant
USA TODAY NETWORK
January 13 2025
Last November, during the election, Dallas passed Proposition R, also known as the "Dallas Freedom Act," an initiative to decriminalize marijuana.
The act passed with 67 percent of Dallas registered voters supporting it and 33.49 percent against it.
According to a Dallas Police Department memo acquired by WFAA, Dallas officers can no longer arrest or cite individuals for possessing up to four ounces of marijuana. Additionally, they are not allowed to use the smell of marijuana as probable cause for a search and seizure unless it involves a violent felony or a high-priority narcotics felony investigation.
Here is what the Dallas Freedom Act means.
Is weed now legal in Dallas?
Nope. Recreational use of marijuana is illegal in Texas. The Texas Health and Safety Code states that possession of marijuana two ounces or less is considered a class B misdemeanor. However, the new law makes the Schedule 1 drug more decriminalized.
What is the Dallas Freedom Act?
The “Dallas Freedom Act” proposes that police stop writing tickets or making arrests for less than four ounces of marijuana. Previous law stated that possessing two to four ounces is a class A misdemeanor that can carry a one-year jail term, and holding under two ounces is a class B misdemeanor that can have a 180-day sentence.
Is medical marijuana legal in Texas?
Kind of. Don’t think you’re about to be Willie Nelson, though.
In 2015, Texas passed the Compassionate-Use Act, which allowed the first legal use of low-THC cannabis products in the state for patients with intractable epilepsy. It was expanded in 2019 and 2021 to include other conditions.
Chapter 169 of the Texas Occupations Code states that patients suffering from the following are allowed to use low-THC cannabis products:
epilepsy
seizure disorders
multiple sclerosis
spasticity
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
autism
cancer
post-traumatic stress disorder
an incurable neurodegenerative disease
Why is Ken Paxton suing Dallas?
Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the city of Dallas over its decision to decriminalize weed, joining at least five other Texas cities facing similar court battles.
Paxton's lawsuit argues that the decriminalization is unconstitutional, as the state of Texas enforces harsher penalties for cannabis possession. THC is classified under Penalty Group 2 of the Texas Controlled Substances Act, and the possession and distribution of cannabis are criminal offenses under §81.120 and 481.121.
"Cities cannot pick and choose which State laws they follow," Paxton said in a statement. "The City of Dallas has no authority to override Texas drug laws or prohibit the police from enforcing them."
-USA TODAY Network reporter Brandi D. Addison contributed to this report.
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