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The Denton City Council voted 4-3 to repeal an ordinance that decriminalized low-level possession of marijuana, an action that the city has refused to enforce since its passing in 2022.
Decriminalize Denton gathered outside Denton City Hall at 6 p.m. on May 20 to voice their concerns. This group, along with others in the Denton community, believes the City Council’s vote does not represent the people’s will and has discouraged voters about the value of their vote.
“I’m just devastated and angry and betrayed by the rest of them and the impression that it gives to the entire city that our votes don’t matter,” Deb Armintor, co-chair of Decriminalize Denton and former City Council member, said. “Our votes don’t matter.”
The now-repealed ordinance, Proposition B, prevented citations and arrests for low-level marijuana possession by de-prioritizing enforcement. Prop B received support from over 70 percent of Denton voters, a record-breaking ordinance with over 32,000 votes cast on the November 2022 ballot.
Armintor has defended Prop B since 2018 and said the council members who vote to repeal the ordinance are rejecting Denton voters.
At-large City Council Member Brandon Chase McGee opposed the repeal and said he will continue to support Denton voters despite the “vast overreach” by both federal and state governments.
“Local government authorities are the last guardrails of democracy,” McGee said during the Council meeting. “We sitting in these seats should never be prone to reactions of fear from any other government body.”
While McGee said he thinks the council’s vote to repeal is wrong, At-large City Council Member Jill Jester noted the state has authority and assured Denton voters that activism and citizen participation matter.
“The decision has been made, it’s out of our hands,” Jester said at the council meeting. “It is a state issue and not a local issue.”
Before the city council meeting, members of Decriminalize Denton protested in chants and song, modifying the lyrics to “Because I Got High,” by Afroman. The new lyrics mocked the council and called out what they said was a failure to implement Prop B and a refusal to stand up for Denton residents. Members of Decriminalize Denton said they plan to recall any city council members who voted to repeal Prop B.
According to an article from the Denton Record-Chronicle, Denton has spent an estimated $200,000 fighting Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit and is facing $500,000 more for the litigation discovery process. After considering the financial pressures, conflicts with state law and a lawsuit from Paxton, the Denton City Council voted on May 20 to uphold state law despite strong opposition from Denton residents.
“Do I want to spend another $500,000 for something we’re not enforcing to hope that state law changes?” Denton Mayor Gerard Hudspeth, who voted to repeal Prop B, said during the city council meeting. “I don’t.”
Since January 2024, Paxton has sued Denton and five other cities, Dallas, Austin, San Marcos, Killeen and Elgin, for violating the constitution because they have adopted ordinances like Prop B that prevent the full enforcement of state drug laws.
According to the Texas Tribune, Paxton’s lawsuits against San Marcos and Austin were dismissed last summer by district county judges who claimed there was no legal jurisdiction to try the case and that the decriminalization ordinances allowed police to focus on high-priority public safety. The city of Elgin resolved the lawsuit through a consent decree, a decision that did not impact Elgin because its police department never enforced the decriminalization ordinance. At the time of writing, the cases filed against Killeen and Dallas are still pending.
Jester, who voted to repeal Prop B, said Texas state law is “the writing on the wall” and should be consistent throughout all municipalities. Council members Vicki Byrd and Joe Holland also voted to repeal the ordinance.
“We’ve been in litigation for almost a year and a half defending the ordinance that was voted on by our citizens,” Jester said at the meeting. “So why now, why now, are we contemplating repealing it? The reason is because there has been a change in legal precedent.”
In addition to Paxton’s lawsuits and pressure from the state, the Texas House voted on Wednesday, May 21, to ban consumable hemp and THC products. This decision would make possession of any amount of THC punishable with fines up to $500, plus increased fines and jail time for repeat offenses.
This measure, Senate Bill 3, has passed in both the House and the Senate and has been sent to Gov. Greg Abbot’s desk. Although a ban would not go into effect until Sept. 1 – the date most bills become law – under this legislation, SB 3 would affect the Texas economy by threatening the state’s hemp industry. The field, according to Cannabis Business Times, supports over 50,000 jobs and would contribute an estimated $10 billion to the Texas economy in 2025.
Javier Ayala, a 22-year-old e-commerce manager at Delta 8 Denton, a local cigar bar and smoke shop, said the repeal of Prop B has had many people come into the store with questions about the availability of hemp products. Ayala said that a ban on THC would largely affect the hemp industry and the Texas economy.
Ayala said that Delta 8 Denton wants to support Denton residents and advocate for the community’s will. Residents have been turning in letters addressed to Abbott with written testimonies and signatures to Delta 8 Denton asking that he veto SB 3. Delta 8 Denton has offered free pre-rolls, dope ropes, and single edibles to anyone that writes a letter to Abbott in hopes to encourage the community to enact change.
“That’s kind of the hard part, I can’t tell them why they’re not being listened to, I can’t tell them why who they voted for doesn’t care,” Ayala said. “But regardless, we kind of just let them know what they can do through politics and through our system to make sure that it doesn’t just pass without a fight.”
”}]] The Denton City Council voted 4-3 to repeal an ordinance that decriminalized low-level possession of marijuana, an action that the city has refused to enforce since its passing in 2022. Read More
