Decriminalizing Cannabis Could End Up on Ballot in Denton City Election

As the law stands in Denton now, you can still get cited for misdemeanor amounts of cannabis.

Cannabis reform has moved at a snail's pace in Texas. But activists are trying to speed things up by fighting for reform at the city and county levels. A group called Decriminalize Denton has twice tried to get an ordinance through City Council that would end citations and arrests for misdemeanor amounts of marijuana. Both times, the ordinance didn’t get the votes it needed from council members.

Now, Decriminalize Denton is trying to get the ordinance passed by a ballot initiative during the November 2022 city election. But first, they’ve got to get it on the ballot. To do that, they need at least 1,745 signatures. They’re aiming for 3,000.

They’ll start collecting those signatures during a kick-off event at noon on Feb. 19 outside the historic courthouse on Denton's downtown square.

“Help us give Denton voters a chance to decide our city's future on this key criminal justice issue that has plagued our community for far too long,” the group said in a post on Facebook.