Texas Attorney General Launches Suits Against Cannabis Amnesty Cities in Texas

 Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched a series of lawsuits against five cities that have marijuana amnesty or nonprosecution policies, saying the municipalities, including Austin and Denton, were breaking state law by refusing to prosecute pot offenses.

The other cities named in the lawsuits — filed across several Texas state courts — include San Marcos, Killeen and Elgin, all of which have ordinances against prosecuting certain charges relating to cannabis. The Texas Attorney General's Office said in a Wednesday press release announcing the suits that the municipalities' policies directly violate a state law that bars cities and police departments from not fully enforcing state drug laws.

The lawsuits name several city officials in the five cities, including several mayors, city council members and police chiefs. Each lawsuit asks for temporary and permanent injunctions to get the different cities' ordinances and policies repealed.

The cities' laws run counter to the Texas Constitution, Paxton says, because they are inconsistent with laws enacted by the state legislature. In addition to repealing the ordinances, the attorney general's office has asked multiple courts across the state to order the cities to enforce marijuana laws and bar punishment for employees who enforce the laws.

"I will not stand idly by as cities run by pro-crime extremists deliberately violate Texas law and promote the use of illicit drugs that harm our communities," Paxton said in a statement Wednesday.

Paxton argues that sovereign immunity doesn't apply to these cities because they didn't have the authority to issue the ordinances in the first place. The lawsuits have sued city leadership in their official capacities.

The cities named in the suit have each adopted various ordinances that limit prosecution of marijuana offenses. Austin adopted an ordinance stating that local police would no longer issue citations or arrests for misdemeanor marijuana possession.

That ordinance came from a ballot initiative that Austin citizens passed in 2022.

In 2022, Denton voters passed a similar ballot initiative, and the city adopted the ordinance. At the time, Denton's city manager warned that the new ordinance would go against state law, according to the attorney general's office.

When asked for a comment, a spokesperson for the City of Austin said Thursday that the lawsuit is related to the voter-approved initiative petition, but didn't comment further.

"We are aware of the lawsuit challenging Austin's policies related to low-level possession of marijuana," the spokesperson said.

When asked for a statement, representatives from the cities of San Marcos, Denton and Killeen declined to comment. A representative from the City of Elgin didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Texas Attorney General's Office and the attorney general's counsel didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Copies of the complaints were issued by the attorney general's office and couldn't be independently verified by Law360.

The State of Texas is represented by Ken Paxton, Brent Webster, Grant Dorfman, Ralph Molina, Ryan D. Walters, Heather Dyer and Jacob Przada of the Office of the Attorney General of Texas.

Counsel information for the Texas cities wasn't immediately available.

The Austin case is The State of Texas v. City of Austin et al. in the District Court of Travis County, Texas.

The Denton case is State of Texas v. City of Denton et al. in the District Court of Denton County, Texas.

The Killeen case is The State of Texas v. City of Killeen et al. in the District Court of Bell County, Texas.

The San Marcos case is The State of Texas v. City of San Marcos et al. in the District Court of Hays County, Texas.

The Elgin case is The State of Texas v. City of Elgin et al. in the District Court of Bastrop County, Texas.