Voters in Bastrop and Lockhart Texas have given overwhelming approval to local initiatives that will significantly change how marijuana possession and use is handled by law enforcement.
Both ordinances will remove the potential for jailtime and a criminal charge for the possession of up to four ounces of marijuana as well as marijuana paraphrenia. Instead, those caught with four ounces or less of cannabis will be, at most, given a civil infraction similar to a traffic violation.
The same ordinance was given approval tonight by voters in Dallas. All three measures were approved with well over 60% support.
Prior to this year, the cities of San Marcos, Killeen, Elgin, Denton and Harker Heights have all passed similar measures decriminalizing marijuana possession. In all five of these cities, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed lawsuits seeking to have them overturned, with judges in Austin and San Marcos already dismissing the lawsuits.
Bastrop has a population of around 11,000, while Lockhart has a population of 15,000.
