The Denton City Council repealed an ordinance relaxing anti-marijuana enforcement.
The council voted 4-3 on May 20 to repeal an initiative which, according to the Denton Record Chronicle, passed in 2022. The ordinance directed city police to refrain from making arrests for low-level, misdemeanor marijuana possession except in “limited circumstances.”
The city reportedly never enforced the initiative.
Mayor Gerard Hudspeth, Councilman Joe Holland, Councilwomen Jill Jester and Vicki Byrd successfully voted to repeal the measure. Mayor Pro Tem Paul Meltzer and Councilmen Brandon Chase McGee and Brian Beck voted to keep it.
“I’ve been consistent in that it violates state law, and we don’t have the opportunity to enforce it. And I’ve been passionate about that, but it has forced change,” Hudspeth said in the meeting. “Everyone’s concerns are valid.”
The city’s marijuana decriminalization measure dictated police were only allowed to make arrests for misdemeanor class A or B marijuana possession when part of a “high priority investigation” of a “felony-level narcotics case” or “investigation of a violent felony.”
In “every instance other” than those, if officers had “probable cause” to believe a substance was marijuana, they were allowed to seize it. In this case, police were required to “write a detailed report and release the individual if possession of marijuana is the sole charge.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Denton – along with Austin, Elgin, Killeen, and San Marcos – in early 2024 for their marijuana decriminalization efforts, as The Dallas Express previously reported.
The 15th Court of Appeals ruled Texas Local Government Code 370.003 – which requires cities to fully enforce drug laws – preempted similar marijuana ordinances like in Austin, according to the repeal measure. The court denied Denton’s request for relief on May 1, forcing the city to enter the discovery process.
Denton has spent $200,000 in legal fees so far “that we’ll never get back,” Hudspeth said in the meeting. He said to continue fighting the case, the city would have to enter discovery and pay an additional $500,000 in fees.
Kristi Fogle, Denton chief of staff and “LGBTQ+ liaison,” pointed to proposed SB 2858 which would freeze city funding if the attorney general sues alleging violation of state law.
Holland moved to approve the ordinance repealing Denton’s decriminalization law. “Mayor, in light of the overwhelming legal fees, the possible freezing and jeopardizing of tax revenue, jeopardizing state grants, and the ability to hold elections, I move the approval of this ordinance,” he said.
Byrd seconded the motion, emphasizing the “practicality” of city decisions. “We may have to revisit this at a later date,” she said in the meeting.
“So just with the practicality in mind of doing the right thing for the right reason – funding, we’re going to be short, our budget is coming up – all of that has to be implemented in this decision,” Byrd said. “I’m going to vote for repealing it, but we’re not done with it.”
Jester echoed similar points, saying, “There is no hope at this time with the current laws. We should put our focus on the state that clearly has the purview of these types of laws,” she said.
Beck said he would vote “hell no.”
“This is basically undue capitulation to political pressure and capitulation creeping authoritarianism,” Beck added.
Nick Stevens, who identified himself as co-chair of the pro-marijuana group Decriminalize Denton, said he was “disappointed.”
“Everything is a reaction, rather than being proactive,” Stevens said.
Dallas passed a similar measure in November, decriminalizing the possession of less than 4 oz. of marijuana in city limits, as The Dallas Express reported at the time. It reportedly directed Dallas police to refrain from arresting suspects for possessing small amounts of marijuana.
Soon after passing the measure, as The Dallas Express also reported, Paxton sued Dallas for the measure.
“Cities cannot pick and choose which State laws they follow. The City of Dallas has no authority to override Texas drug laws or prohibit the police from enforcing them,” Paxton said in a release at the time. “This is a backdoor attempt to violate the Texas Constitution, and any city that tries to constrain police in this fashion will be met swiftly with a lawsuit by my office.”