Tucked at the bottom of the November 3 ballot, available only to residents who live inside the Houston city limits, was a proposition to deprioritize marijuana arrests. The so-called Houston Freedom Act passed with an overwhelming 71.49 percent of the vote.
Almost 413,000 people voted for it, signaling that both Republicans and Democrats would rather Houston cops spend their time investigating crimes other than misdemeanor weed possession (less than 4 ounces).
The proposition also bans no-knock warrants, meaning Houston police officers have to announce themselves before they enter a home.
Mayor John Whitmire has said that HPD already avoids no-knock warrants and considers misdemeanor marijuana possession a low priority. However, since Whitmire took office in 2024, Houston police have arrested an average of 440 people per year for misdemeanor marijuana possession, up from an average of 35 such arrests annually from 2021 through 2023.
The January 2019 botched Harding Street drug raid involved a fraudulent no-knock search warrant that led to the shooting deaths of homeowners Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas, as well as their dog. According to public testimony, HPD narcotics Officer Gerald Goines lied in a sworn affidavit to obtain the warrant, falsely claiming a confidential informant bought heroin at the home.
Goines was later charged with murder and sentenced to 60 years in prison. Since the Harding Street incident, HPD restricted but did not eliminate no-knock warrants, based on an executive order issued by then-Chief Art Acevedo.
The ballot measures were met with criticism by those who claimed that no officer was actually patrolling the streets looking for baggies of weed or kicking in doors. Some said the “weed prop” was just an effort to get first-time voters to the polls for Democrats. Others suggested the marijuana issue and no-knock warrants should be split so they could vote differently on the two items.
Nonetheless, the charter amendments were placed on the ballot via a petition signed by more than 40,000 people and circulated by Austin-based nonprofit Ground Game Texas.
Ground Game Texas Executive Director Cara Voellinger said it was important to codify a policy so that if a new mayor is elected or a new police chief is appointed, there’s a mandate on the books that officers are expected to follow.
The city council has to formally adopt the ordinance before it becomes effective, but Whitmire has said he will ensure that officers are trained on the new policy. The proposition also requires that HPD support diversion programs such as mental health and substance abuse treatment, participation in community service programs and other alternatives to arrest or prosecution for marijuana possession.
Marijuana possession is still illegal in Texas but holding less than 4 ounces will now be considered the “lowest possible enforcement priority” among HPD officers. The policy comes at a time when the entire state of Texas could soon see changes to legislation governing the use and purchase of THC products.
Statewide THC regulations became effective on July 31, the result of a compromise stemming from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s crusade to ban the sale of intoxicating hemp-derived products.
However, neither the Republicans nor the Democrats liked the bill that was signed into law. Democrats say the new restrictions are confusing and difficult to enforce. There’s no cheap or easy way to test how much THC a product contains, Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare has said. Patrick wanted an outright ban.
Under the new law, recreational marijuana is illegal, but hemp, derived from the same plant, is not if the product contains no more than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC. Tinctures and gummies can still be purchased but vape pens with THC and synthetic THC products cannot.
Patrick lost last week’s election to Vikki Goodwin, who will be sworn into office in January as the first female lieutenant governor of Texas. Goodwin campaigned on legalizing marijuana, and was supported by many people who use the plant to treat chronic pain, cancer and PTSD.
University of Houston political science lecturer Nancy Sims told the Houston Press last week that THC will likely be among the first items the Legislature discusses when it convenes in January.
“The entire legislature already supported the THC legislation and Dan Patrick didn’t want it to move forward with it the way it was written,” she said. “[Gov. Greg] Abbott vetoed [Patrick’s] bill. You’re going to see that rectify itself. Vikki Goodwin is going to fight for that. The legislation needs clarification and they want to figure out how to tax it and make it legitimate. You’re going to see that move forward. That’s a given.”
Texas Majority PAC Executive Director Katherine Fischer said THC legislation is not among Texans’ greatest concerns, but she agrees it will come up in the next session.
“THC was one of many things that helped people make up their minds that Republicans in the state don’t care about them and that they should vote in a different way than they have been voting,” Fischer said.
Goodwin has said she wants to make more hemp-derived THC products legal and use revenue from the sales tax for health insurance programs for low-income Texans. Whether that plan will gain bipartisan support or even make it to committee remains to be seen.
