Overview

• On June 28, the City of Dallas and Attorney General Ken Paxton jointly secured a temporary injunction halting all enforcement of Proposition R, the Dallas Freedom Act.
• The injunction bars police from decriminalizing possession of up to four ounces of marijuana and prohibits disciplining officers who ignore the ordinance.
• Proposition R, approved by 66.5% of voters in November, had aimed to eliminate arrests for small-scale marijuana possession and ban the smell of marijuana as probable cause.
• A Texas appeals court previously struck down similar decriminalization measures in Austin and San Marcos, reinforcing the state’s preemption over local drug laws.
• With no trial date set, existing state penalties—ranging from Class B misdemeanors for under two ounces to Class A misdemeanors for two to four ounces—remain in effect.