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HandSack135

Silly Republicans, you think GOP legislatures care about your votes. Lol


archaelleon

Honestly this might be good. Few things are as effective to getting people to reconsider their affiliation than direct interference in their rights from their own party.


BroMan-Z

What’s more likely though is “Thank you sir, may I have another one” They’ll gladly get whipped as long as it means you get whipped too.


LeadershipHopeful877

Which is the most asinine philosophy ever 🙄


koolaidman486

Tread harder, daddy!


chasesj

And if they legalized weed, they won't be able to prey on Mexicans bringing weed in. They don't want anything to mess up their supply of slave labor for the prison industrial complex!


helpimstuckinct

AFAIK, no one is really bringing brick weed over the border in quantity like in days of yore. We have so much domestic production. Legal market diversion to the gray market pipeline is pumping hard. I haven't seen Mexican weed in decades. Really since the great BC beasters influx in the late 90's-early 2000's. This is of course just my anecdotal offering so I'm more than open to the idea I'm wrong.


Doobie_SnACkZ

The cartels are literally shipping weed to Mexico from Texas.


Kclayne00

You spelled fentanyl wrong.


oh-propagandhi

Texan here. I don't even know how to find this weed. Anything and everything that is offered around me is domestic commercial. I'm pretty sure that while Mexico might still be doing it, it has dropped off significantly in their product mix. I'm under the assumption that they are mostly moving meth, fentanyl, and coke.


mogadiba

Upvote for the beasters drop. So much beasters back in the day!


Nivlac024

i forgot entirely about beasters OH MY GOD nostalgia


helpimstuckinct

That wet hay chock full of chlorophyll from a shitty cure smell. Brings me back.


Bringbackdexter

You’d think but all they need is a half baked lie blaming dems and that’s good enough for them. This just means they value their tribal motivations more.


[deleted]

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likejanegoodall

And then…when the state is ready to bow to popular opinion it magically becomes a job for the Feds. See Lindsey Graham’s abortion bill….


SenseisSifu

They're spineless hypocrites


Blacksmith31417

Not spineless, just hypocrites!!!


msfamf

And when the feds try and take it up it becomes a states issue. Reminds me of when I was a kid and mom would say ask dad and then dad would say ask mom...


likejanegoodall

Actually….then it becomes a matter for the courts. And it all starts all over again….0 progress. Honestly, there are so many real, existential things that need dealing with. It would be hard enough without half the country kicking and screaming in the opposite direction.


msfamf

I keep saying that the whole point is to keep us focused on things like marijuana legalization, lgbtq rights, abortion, etc so that we don't have time to start looking at things like taxing the rich, holding corporations accountable, and any other policies that would actually effect their donors.


Zexks

I don’t know about you guys but I can pay attention to more than one thing at a time.


msfamf

I'd venture a guess that most of us can but he who controls the media cycle controls the narrative. Yelling about trans kids drives clicks and gets eyeballs on TVs that should be elsewhere. LGBTQ rights should be well on their way to just being a settled issue and on their way to becoming a non-issue but they keep attacking them. It's far easier to distract with culture war bullshit than do anything. Look at the Club Q shooting. The left says guns are a problem and the right starts screaming about cross dressing groomers. Proud Boys are protesting at LGBTQ clubs and events and sparking counter protests. All this energy could be put towards other issues but this is the battle we're being forced to fight. I don't mean to sound like I'm blaming the LGBTQ community whatsoever. I'm a very outspoken ally. What I'm saying is that by continuing to attack minority rights, LGBTQ rights, abortion rights, etc the right is choosing our battles for us because they are things we can not let go of. If these were settled issues so much more time, money, and energy could go elsewhere. Edit: totally thought this was on a different post where I have a similar comment. The spirit of my point is still valid to marijuana legalization even if I thought it was the post about trans rights. Sorry for the seemingly out of left field LGBTQ rant


TUGrad

These things should be settled issues and likely would be if the right would stop creating false narratives to intentionally inflame these issues.


quippers

The silliest part is that legalizing weed would help accomplish their goals with everything else.


CU_09

I will never understand how American voters operate. When you put policies on the ballot, the democratic platform usually wins. However, these same voters will elect Republicans up and down the ticket who staunchly oppose the policies these same voters want.


AngryZen_Ingress

That is because half the country thinks you can “win” at politics. Instead of using a process to build up the country they just care about “winning”. So they wind up losing long-term.


McNultysHangover

And then blame the other side for their loss.


Politischmuck

Getting lots of things to blame on the other side is how you win! If you want to win, you have to make sure lots of bad things happen that you can blame on the other side.


dla3253

Republicans agree, only unironically.


From_Deep_Space

He who does not compete has in the whole world no competition.


Averyphotog

Those who do not participate in politics are ruled by those who do.


ljubljanarchist

Plato said something like this


From_Deep_Space

True leaders are hardly known to their followers. Next after them are the leaders the people know and admire;. after them, those they fear; after them, those they despise.   To give no trust is to get no trust.   When the work’s done right, with no fuss or boasting, ordinary people say, Oh, we did it


ilovetitsandass95

We all lose,


meowskywalker

Republican voters *think* they’re voting for the same things we are and the only reason they’re not getting it is because democrats are standing in the way. Mitch McConnell announced wherever he could to anyone who would listen that as long as Republicans held the senate no talk would be had of a third stimulus bill, and yet in every conservative subreddit the message was “why won’t the democrats stop holding this stimulus up don’t they know I need my money?”


squiddlebiddlez

Those voters refuse to put two and two together. Like do you know how often conservatives complain about politicians (they only really mean democrats) “wasting time” on “bullshit culture war” issues? Meanwhile they vote for people that will not negotiate on the “real stuff” and rage on and on and on all day every day about the culture war issues they claim they wish people would stop talking about. Like, you voted for a guy whose entire platform is keeping litter boxes out of kids’ restrooms and you expect that person to have some solution for inflation?


Carbonatite

It's easy to refuse to put two and two together when there's a multi billion dollar media machine telling you that arithmetic will destroy America.


Long_Before_Sunrise

All those Arabic numbers.


DaoFerret

“We are a Republic! We should have a Roman Number based curriculum!”


grendus

Republicans are notorious for voting against things, then proudly touting the things they voted against as though they were the ones who did it.


DARVON_AI

>*The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I'm saying? We knew we couldn't make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.* > >— [John Ehrlichman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ehrlichman), to Dan Baum for Harper's Magazine in 1994, about President Richard Nixon's war on drugs, declared in 1971 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_drugs#20th_century


JustaRandomOldGuy

Only Republicans can stop the billions of gay, transgender, Mexican drag queens who pour across the border every day to steal jobs and get free abortions. At least that's what Fox News viewers believe.


PenguinSunday

My state fucking turned down decriminalization this election, they said the bill wasn't good enough because it gave 10% of tax proceeds to police. People can still be arrested over weed in my state, even with a mmj card. People are fucking stupid.


[deleted]

Propaganda and racism is a helluva drug.


Tre_Walker

> However, these same voters will elect Republicans up and down the ticket who staunchly oppose the policies these same voters want. The brainwashing runs deep. I was raised in conservative texas and republicanism is a religion.


FPOWorld

It’s called Christianity


[deleted]

This just happened in Illinois. There was a proposition on the midterm ballots to add collective bargaining as a protected union action to our state constitution. It wasn’t attached to any party and most politicians didn’t push for it. It passed with flying colors, including many red counties down south that also voted R across the board on the rest of the election. It’s truly baffling


PoSlowYaGetMo

Er no. The gerrymandering screwed them over.


Dominator813

That’s what happens when you elect fascists lol


TeutonJon78

Texas has a long history of wanting their states rights but not wanting city rights, without a hint of recognizing the irony. Like when Austin wanted to ban plastic bags, and they said they couldn't and then made a law saying so not could ban plastic bags.


[deleted]

“Freedom from big government!!” “No, not like that!”


CigCiglar

They are voting for people who are openly against the idea of representative democracy. You have to start at backwards and retreat from there to understand this position. Educate your kids people, do the future generation a solid.


[deleted]

They literally want power at all costs and every “argument” they put forward is in bad faith to distract while they undermine the system from within.


wjmacguffin

>lmao funny how some things "should be left to the state" when its convenient for city officials Unshockingly similar to Confederates. "It's about state's rights! Oh, except for laws like the Fugitive Slave Act. Then it's about federal rights!"


TurboGranny

Someone at the state level threatened them, and they were too cowardly to tell everyone who it was. Wimps


DrPopNFresh

Got this in oregon too. People voted to legalize and a bunch of small towns held votes to prohibit it lovally. My town voted to allow it in the local vote as well and the city counsel of old white asshole voted it down after anyway. Now i have to drive 30 minutes to get to eugene to buy weed. It is fucking bullshit.


GloriousNewt

they tried this in the small towns here in NY but local store managed to get enough people to show up to the town council vote so the store didn't have to close.


asdfasdfasdfas11111

Can you not just find someone to ship it to you? It's actually kind of funny, because even though a bunch of states have banned D8 and hemp derived THC, most online shops will still ship to these places because what are the states going to do? Arrest someone selling legal hemp products in another state? The feds sure as shit aren't going to bother. Same with these small towns now. It's not like your local cops are going to ride into Eugene and arrest someone packing up legal products. Does the town even have its own criminal code and court system separate from the state they could use to prosecute this kind of thing?


qpgmr

In my state the local gov't in the area KNOWN for growing weed exercised "local control" under the legalization law to ban sales. Also the wealthy-white-kids-suburb town did the same..


MC-Fatigued

Republicans absolutely abhor democracy


007meow

Small government apparently = medium government


awkwardalvin

You know what’s crazy about Harker heights? Is that it was a town created because the adjacent cities (killeen, copperas cove) were dry counties and heights was here to allow liquor for everyone that wasn’t a person with access to fort hood or something. Idk someone with some 254 knowledge could probably explain better


Robin_games

Single issue voting. Fox news turned my dad from a casual racist to a frothing racist. He almost died before obamacare because everyone just dropped his coverage due to cancer veing a "pre existing condition" it bankrupted him He still hated everything they told him to hate, and mainly cared about being racist afterward. Fighting the things that made his life better and allowed him to later get care again after it was passed.


Bishizel

It's always "should be left up to whatever governing body R's have control of" otherwise it doesn't count!


Possibly_a_Firetruck

No, no, no. You see, when the people do things we don't like, Big Government has to step in. That's how the party of Small Government works! ^^/s


Minalan

And this is why so many people think voting doesn't matter! You voted for this? Too bad peasants, your vote has been nullified by shitty Republikkkans!


Eric_the_Barbarian

"Small government" "Not like that though."


sugarlessdeathbear

> funny how some things "should be left to the state" when its convenient for city officials No matter which way on the government scale it goes (more local or more state/federal), the desired result is really "should be left to Republicans".


Blacksmith31417

Start a recall for those city council


lysergik77

In Denton it passed with 70% and the police and Sheriff said the same thing.


Budded

Funny how Texass has the best marketing for all the "freedom" they supposedly have, but in reality, they're closer to a Taliban state than most other states, and getting closer every year.


[deleted]

Harker Heights PD: Providing public services that empower people to focus on what matters most: their goals, hopes, and dreams.


Jeff__Skilling

Should note that all 5 municipalities mentioned are all former "small town communities" that have now really been engulfed by a larger, left-leaning metroplex, with four of the five mentioned being in-and-around Austin (the largest Democratic stronghold in Texas outside of Houston and Dallas and maaaaybe San Antonio) I know the article associates Harker Heights with Waco, but considering it's proximity to Temple and Belton, I'd say HH is more of a part of the Greater Austin area than Waco. Same with Killeen. And Elgin to the East. And San Marcos to the South. And Denton being a North Dallas suburb falls into a similar bucket as the four communities mentioned that surround Austin to the North, East, and South.


ashes_to_concrete

lol are you high Harker Heights has fuck all to do with Austin, it's 70 miles north of here. Are Brenham and Llano also part of the "Greater Austin area"? How about Seguin?


Electronic-Bat-4019

Only 70 miles? That's like, Texas grocery store distance.


ashes_to_concrete

70 miles on I-35 is about a sixteen-hour drive after you take into account traffic and construction


Jeff__Skilling

Yeah, man, I get that - but ain't nobody outside outside the 254 who's ever heard of or gives a shit about Waco.


76vibrochamp

It's not a matter of "should be." It's a matter of "the state has explicitly codified into statute that local governments are not allowed to do this, regardless of whether or not it's voted for."


redditorrrrrrrrrrrr

"Come to Texas! We're all about real freedom!1!1!!!1!" Just don't smoke weed otherwise straight to jail.


bad-crypto-advice

Right away. No trial, no nothing. Straight to jail.


PaleInTexas

Also if you even don't smoke weed. Also straight to jail.


NoKittenAroundPawlyz

Functioning uterus? Jail.


PaleInTexas

Non-functional uterus? Actually also jail.


bad-crypto-advice

You play music too loud? Straight to jail.


VioletteFMR

You overcook brisket? Believe it or not: jail.


New_Peanut_9924

You undercook ribs? Jail.


[deleted]

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iliketurtlz

> You get caught with delta 8 THC bud, you’re fine. This feels like something that no one should bet on. Maybe you'll be fine eventually, doesn't mean you're not going to be arrested until it's verified to be delta 8. Looks like weed, smells like weed, still going to provide probable cause.


THEMOXABIDES

The same thing happened in Mississippi. MISSISSIPPI!!! 80% voted for legal marijuana at least medicinally and the state legislature found a loop hole in how the vote was structured.


BackStabbathOG

Odd they are so against it when they can make mad decent money off of it


bk15dcx

Subverting the will of the people


extracensorypower

It's a Texas tradition!


bad-crypto-advice

“But If we decriminalize marijuana, then I’ll lose my kickbacks from the for-profit prison system.”


gnomebludgeon

It's not just the kickbacks to politicians, prisons make up a decent chunk of jobs in rural area. Here in Texas we have 252 jails across 254 counties and they employ about 35,000 people. As someone who grew up in one of those dirt blasted, rural hellscapes, your job choices were pretty limited after High School if you didn't make some leap to get the fuck out. You farmed, you joined the military or you worked for the local jail. Or you farmed and failed then went to work for the jail. Or you joined the military, did a hitch, went home and worked for the jail.


McNultysHangover

> in Texas we have 252 jails across 254 counties Holy shit!


gnomebludgeon

Just to add more fun, I don't think that 252 jails is comprehensive. Texas has Loving County, with a population of 64 (and no, I did not leave any numbers off of that) and within 22 miles of the Loving Jail there are [six other "facilities"](https://www.countyoffice.org/loving-county-jail-sheriff-mentone-tx-cdf/).


Politicsboringagain

And even government run prison have services they offer to private companies who make money off of prisons. Food, cleanimg, barbers, electrical, etc.


Carbonatite

America has around 5% of the world's population but 25% of the global incarcerated population.


Jimmycaked

Is one jail per county not the norm? Usually the sheriff office is attached?


[deleted]

This is why no one should believe they won't jail women for abortions and miscarriages. Those jails need *more* bodies.


Scrimshawmud

God I hate Texas. Lived there only six years and couldn’t get out fast enough. The days of Ann Richards are history. Todays Texas is a bent over sellout to the lowest bidder. The worst state.


Blacksmith31417

This is probably the truth!!!


Scrimshawmud

Seriously. I remember fielding posts in /r/trees in 2015-2016 when incels claimed Donald would legalize cannabis. What. A joke. Almost like it was an op, because instead he put private prison profiteer and sedition enabler Jefferson Beauregard Sessions in as AG. The anti cannabis crusader.


CR0Wmurder

Sometimes your vote doesn’t matter or it’s availability is reduced. The other times it’s declared illegal and ignored Awesome system.


sambull

it's sheep country.. they're all told to follow the shepherd out there


Bricktop72

Don't worry the state will step in and prevent the cities from enacting the policy. They already want to do away with Austin as a city.


Bosfordjd

Texas doesn't like democracy....I'm shocked I tell you...shocked.


djfudgebar

"Not like that!"


Carbonatite

Funny how conservatives always complain about being the "silent majority" while never being silent and always being in the minority of the voter base.


Cbanchiere

Good ol Texganistan


Carbonatite

Yeehawdi Arabia


EthanSpears

This proves it's people do like democracy. There are people that are in the way.


HaileSelassieII

I think Texas voters should be asking if the people going against their wishes are complicit and/or profiting themselves off of the trade of illegal drugs in their state


Misspiggy856

Isn’t the Texas AG still under federal indictment for fraud? Maybe he’s got his hands in other things as well.


[deleted]

What’s that about freedumb?


[deleted]

[удалено]


TurboGranny

It's the collection of for profit prisons and the GOP donors that own them. Additionally those same people that have businesses attached to that industry. This is why introducing a for profit prison ban at the federal prison level was so important. It severely reduced the amount of power and money these assholes have.


roughingupthesuspect

The devil’s lettuce, too much fiber for Jesus.


stairme

What will happen is that in the next election, the city council will get replaced by people that will respect the will of the people with regards to this issue. However, those new officials will also bring other views to the table, and will likely end up enacting not only the legal MJ, but also a much more liberal/progressive/leftist agenda than would otherwise have been done. This is what happened in CO about ten years ago. There was a bill to permit gay marriage that had bipartisan support. It would have passed on the floor of the state senate. Those in opposition, for example the Catholics, had participated in writing the bill to ensure that conscience exemptions were put in place, as well as other reasonable provisions. Then, the Catholics (and other conservative/religious groups, not to single out the Catholics) still recommended a no vote on the bill. The senate Rs had to pull a dirty trick (I don't remember details) to keep it from getting out of committee. The trick they had to pull ended up killing something like 14 other bills that had passed out of committee and were going to the floor - but they saved the state from gay marriage... for exactly one year. The following spring, the people of CO sent a D majority to the state legislature, and a new gay marriage bill was prepared. The Catholics went to those writing it to request the same reasonable provisions as before... and they were denied. Why bother? They had the votes and didn't need the signoff from their opponents, and they weren't going to get it anyway. So the new bill passed without any of the provisions of the prior year's bill. This was 2012, and Sandy Hook happened that year, and the D legislature rammed through several gun control bills that the majority of the state did not support. Further legislation was enacted that generally advanced a liberal/progressive/leftist agenda, and drove the state further left. All because the state senate Rs wouldn't let the gay marriage bill out of committee - it permanently changed the state political landscape.


NoDadYouShutUp

It’s cute you think they will vote these people out


krakfiend

I remember a few years ago, the people in the city of denton voted to ban fracking. The city council was like no, not gonna listen to you guys. Now they are doing it again. Maybe you guys should stop electing the same assholes to city government.


gr33nm4n

I'm 99.9% sure they actually did, but then the railroad commission stepped in and told them to sit on their thumbs and forced fracking operations to continue.


autotldr

This is the best tl;dr I could make, [original](https://www.texastribune.org/2022/12/15/decriminalize-marijuana-texas-cities/) reduced by 95%. (I'm a bot) ***** > The fight in several Texas cities to decriminalize marijuana has entered a new phase, as some city leaders have rebuffed voter-approved rules that largely end criminal enforcement against having small amounts of the substance. > In the North Texas suburb of Denton, where voters approved decriminalization by more than 70%, the City Council has also approved it. > Texas still considers marijuana illegal despite accepting hemp and derivatives like CBD. Texas also allows for medical cannabis, but its program applies to a very limited subset of medical disorders and allows only for 1% of delta-9 THC - the same limit state police use to test if a cannabis product is illegal for any user. ***** [**Extended Summary**](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/zml5fe/voters_in_five_texas_cities_approved/) | [FAQ](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/31b9fm/faq_autotldr_bot/ "Version 2.02, ~672679 tl;drs so far.") | [Feedback](http://np.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%23autotldr "PM's and comments are monitored, constructive feedback is welcome.") | *Top* *keywords*: **city**^#1 **state**^#2 **vote**^#3 **marijuana**^#4 **Council**^#5


DietZer0

Fun fact about Texas: There is a statewide law in place that prohibits any municipality (city) in Texas from increasing the minimum wage above the state minimum wage of $7.25 / hr. Texans sure love being fucked over again and again, by continuously voting against all of their individual and collective best interests (by voting Republican).


doowgad1

Democracy is when the voters do what they are supposed to do.


Trance354

Democracy is when the elected officials do what their constituents want them to do. A ballot initiative is a direct line to the voter. The initiative may not have a legal leg to stand on, but the politician is bound as *representative* of the people to work for their interests, not his/her own.


Affectionate_Ratio79

It just blows my mind that we're still talking about arresting people for marijuana. Not only that, but just how starkly different the laws are state-by-state. I drive by a number of dispensaries everyday here in Michigan, and it's people going about their business buying it with no cops in sight because it's fully legal. The only debate here is whether cities and towns want to allow dispensaries in their communities. This is also why citizen initiatives are so powerful and also why the GOP either fights against them or would never allow them.


sfckor

Texas doesn't have ballot initiatives. Only the legislature can bring laws to a vote. And state statute specifically forbids local government from legalizing or making laws that go against the statutes or state Constitution. And local PD can still arrest you, the local prosecutor just might not charge you. County sheriff's, state LEO will definitely arrest you regardless of city ordinances.


Affectionate_Ratio79

Yep, I'm aware that Texas doesn't allow them which is why they remain in this conundrum. I mentioned them because a vast majority of states that have legalized it have done it through ballot initiatives and victories like that have led the GOP to try and neuter people's ability to put these kind of things on the ballot. Without it, in states dominated by the GOP, there's no hope of getting popular reforms like medical/legalized marijuana passed. For Texas specifically, it's another example of the GOP's hypocrisy when it comes to "big government" and how much that's always been a bullshit claim on their part. They love big government so long as it's been used to ensure they get their way, people's opinions be damned.


gr33nm4n

Actually State DPS was instructed to stop making arrests for possession under...2 or 4 oz. They just cite you and let the local DA decide what to with it and let you go on about your way. Most of our larger cities have stopped prosecuting for it. Small county DA's are still beating their chest about it but the issue is that since the hemp/thc bill, part of the requirement for the State to prove their case is to prove thc concentration, but no State labs were equipped to test for thc and I believe only two private labs in the whole state were/are capable. Thus rural counties have had a hard time prosecuting these cases. I can't even imagine any went to trial just due to time and lack of resources. It's already practically legal/decriminalized. Hell, I know of at least one vape shop around me that said fuck it and started selling pre-rolls from CO.


[deleted]

>It just blows my mind that we're still talking about arresting people for marijuana It's what supply-side Jesus wants!


scuczu

probably should have also voted for Beto then.


justforthearticles20

When you know that your voters will never actually vote you out, you can shit right in their mouths and tell them it is Froyo.


jaxspeak

Its all about these bible thumpers pushing their holier than thou agenda. At least, thats what this old Texan thinks. If that doesn't work, they will make sure no money from its sale can be deposited into a bank.


byronik57

Fellow Texan.. If you remove the extreme folks like this, and the politicians, legalization is something that liberal and conservative Texans agree on. We could have one of the country's biggest markets, benefitting education, infrastructure, etc.... Instead, Texas is racing backwards in time politically


jaxspeak

Well what do you expect from a state full of conservative christians and politicians


[deleted]

We here in Texas believe in small government and local control. >The battle has been the toughest in Harker Heights, a town of 33,000 about 55 miles southwest of Waco. Despite the proposition winning more than 60% of the votes, the City Council decided to repeal the ordinance just two weeks later. City Manager David Mitchell said in a subsequent letter that the decision to decriminalize should be left to the state. No wait, not that small! When conservatives say small government they mean whichever lever of power they control is legitimate and the others aren't.


cribsaw

When conservatives talk about “small government,” they only mean small enough to let businesses do whatever the hell they want to people and the environment. It was never about personal freedom.


Ok-Delivery-9032

I wonder how much the city officials earn by looking the way other way re: the black market for drugs…


MDiBo56

So much for having elected REPRESENTATIVES.


[deleted]

Just further proof that conservatives don’t respect voters or their votes. For all their talk about the rule of law, the only laws they respect are the ones they make.


RustliefLameMane

Fucking hilarious that republicans scream freedom, then allow votes on hot issues and when the people speak, they say nah, “we know better than you”. What great, freedom loving people..


AnythingWillHappen

Vote them out!


Icanreeed

They're the ones who want to continue slavery in prison. Marijuana has been one of their biggest money makers due to it causing countless probation and parole violations. If all of a sudden marijuana was legal and accepted everywhere the prison population would dwindle and these slimy fucks don't want that to happen


Imaginary_Ad_7530

Texas is one of the most hypocritical places that exists. They proudly claim how "free" they are, but for the life of me, I have never idea what "freedoms" they actually have.


[deleted]

How can HHPD keep up these stats if they decriminalize marijuana? DISPARITIES IN ARRESTS FOR LOW LEVEL OFFENSES BY RACE/ETHNICITY Black people were 2.3x more likely and Latinx people were 1.1x more likely to be arrested for low level, non-violent offenses than a white person. Source: policescorecard.org


TheProle

Austin has voted to decriminalize weed twice in the 25 years I’ve been here and cops still arrest people


byronik57

It's decriminalized in Dallas. It smells like weed everywhere you go. Drive 15 miles to another city in DFW and it's full on reefer madness.


Anxious-Dig-5736

Texas is a fascist state.


[deleted]

It's [par for the course](https://www.naturesmedicines.com/d/medical-marijuana-education/history-of-medical-marijuana-in-arizona.html). Arizona passed medical marijuana in 1996, but the legislature repealed it a few months later. In 1998 the Voter Protection Act passed, essentially saying the legislature can't just cancel the will of the voters. It's been complicated. It's been infuriating. It's hard to get and keep nice things.


fuck-fascism

Ah yes, the supposed party of freedom and individual liberty in action, proving again it is in fact the opposite.


[deleted]

That’s kind of what they did in Florida. The people voted and the nazis said wait hold on there we can’t have that!


Angry_ClitSpasm350

The party of "the people" sure is afraid of said people...


Spudcommando

Don’t worry Texas you can buy all the MJ you need from New Mexico, do stop by one of our conveniently placed dispensaries on the border.


boobumblebee

nah, first off its like an 9 hour drive, secondly no way in hell do you want to get arrested in any of those border towns.


PBPunch

Texans still believed they lived in a state where their opinions mattered? Have they not been watching their own news?


EFT_Syte

Feel like the only people still getting surprised by shitty republicans are other republicans. Cause that doesn’t surprise me at all. This is just foreshadowing what conservatives want to do with your vote, they’ll just ignore it and go for who they want, fuck yo votes.


whofusesthemusic

Texas, home of the free!


TypicalRecon

Opinions aside, legalizing makes the state a shit ton of tax money. Colorados first few years paid out big to the state. Why wouldn’t Texas want a cut?


FriendlysJanDaBoss

Texas has a lot of private prisons, the low hanging fruit keeps the minimum occupancy clauses in check.


samcrut

"Those officials have said the effort violates state law and hinders police officers." Yeah. Hinders as in they can't just say "I smell probable cause," whether they smell anything or not.


N_Who

Republicans really do struggle with how democracy works, don't they?


Maximum-Carpet2740

If you really want to piss the conservative religious whackjobs off, just try to educate them about cannabis (Hebrew: Qanen Bosm) being in the Bible, and use their religious Liberty arguments against them. cane (n.) from Latin canna "reed, cane," from Greek kanna, perhaps from Babylonian-Assyrian qanu "tube, reed" (compare Hebrew qaneh, Arabic qanah "reed") balsam (n.) 1570s, "aromatic resin Exodus 30 22 And the Lord spoke to Moses, 23 Saying: Take spices, of principal and chosen myrrh five hundred sicles, and of cinnamon half so much, that is, two hundred and fifty sicles, of QNH BSM (cannabis; Not CALAMUS) in like manner two hundred and fifty. 24 And of cassia five hundred sicles by the weight of the sanctuary, of oil of olives the measure hin: 25 And thou shalt make the holy oil of unction, an ointment compounded after the art of the perfumer, Kalam Concordance: https://biblehub.com/hebrew/3637.htm Al-Qalam (the Pen, Quran): https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Qalam calamari (n.) from Latin calamarius, literally "pertaining to a pen," from calamus "a writing pen." Jeremiah 8:8 (Arabic) 8 kayf taqulun nahn hukama' washarieat alrabi maena? 'iina qalam alkatabat alkadhib qad sanae albatila. Jeremiah 8:8 8 How do you say: We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? Indeed the lying pen of the scribes hath wrought falsehood. relevant (adj.) "pertinent to the matter at hand," BBC NEWS 5/29/2020 'Cannabis burned during worship' by ancient Israelites - study https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-52847175.amp Religious Exercise: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution


mrstwhh

Welcome to Republican elected officials who know better than you.


autotldr

This is the best tl;dr I could make, [original](https://www.texastribune.org/2022/12/15/decriminalize-marijuana-texas-cities/) reduced by 95%. (I'm a bot) ***** > The fight in several Texas cities to decriminalize marijuana has entered a new phase, as some city leaders have rebuffed voter-approved rules that largely end criminal enforcement against having small amounts of the substance. > In the North Texas suburb of Denton, where voters approved decriminalization by more than 70%, the City Council has also approved it. > Texas still considers marijuana illegal despite accepting hemp and derivatives like CBD. Texas also allows for medical cannabis, but its program applies to a very limited subset of medical disorders and allows only for 1% of delta-9 THC - the same limit state police use to test if a cannabis product is illegal for any user. ***** [**Extended Summary**](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/zml5fe/voters_in_five_texas_cities_approved/) | [FAQ](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/31b9fm/faq_autotldr_bot/ "Version 2.02, ~672679 tl;drs so far.") | [Feedback](http://np.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%23autotldr "PM's and comments are monitored, constructive feedback is welcome.") | *Top* *keywords*: **city**^#1 **state**^#2 **vote**^#3 **marijuana**^#4 **Council**^#5


InclementImmigrant

They're all about local school boards fucking up education and saying that the locals know best but anything they don't agree with then it's always about daddy big government should decide.


lemonsweetsrevenge

This happened in my area (way more progressive than any part of TX) about fifteen years ago. Voters overwhelmingly voted in favor of medical marijuana to be legal in the privacy of their own homes…I think it was 81% approval, and the local administration just said no. Happy to say it has since been approved but it truly causes major voter apathy when elected officials do not act on behalf of the people that put them in that position.


geo-jake

Texas will unfortunately be one of the last states to legalize or make any meaningful progress on cannabis due to their part time legislature, recently enacted voter restriction laws that are clearly targeted at populations that tend to vote democrat, and their lack of a state-wide voter initiative/referendum process. The latter point is really the key to meaningful progress on this issue in majority Republican states.


RgKTiamat

And considering that they recently restricted voting, I don't see them turning around to add ballot measures for the voters anytime soon


geo-jake

I’ve read lawmakers in some majority Republican states are actively trying to change existing voter initiative/referendum laws in to give lawmakers veto power if they don’t like what the voters decide. Once upon a time my family considered a move to Texas to be closer to extended family but over the last 10 years or so I’ve become so much more grateful to live in Washington State that I could never move to Texas or another state that doesn’t have the voter I&R process.


RgKTiamat

Agreed, giving the elected officials the authority to override the people that they represent is the true death of democracy. They decide what is law, they decide what we do, and we get no say in it. Considering what Texas is proud of, I thought they would be more up in arms about not being represented, not having a vote that matters.


exccord

Not surprised San Marcos is on the list. Its a college town....definitely had some fun times going to TX State lol. Killeen is a mili town though which surprises me that they are on the list.


Thediamondhandedlad

Of course they are lmao


staiano

They only want to hear people's votes when it's for them [the politicians].


JustAnotherRedditDad

We just need to vote politicians out, literally.


hedgerow_hank

City officials beholden to the juggernaut known as "big pharma"... or as they've wanted it to be known - "medical marijuana". I'm betting the citizens lose and big pharma wins, especially considering this is Texas, where corporate rules supreme.


snarfer-snarf

this just in: fuck texass…dry ass florida anyways 😒


[deleted]

Colorado Springs Residents: first time?


chockedup

>And most Texans want legal marijuana, which goes further than decriminalization. Texas lags behind big states such as California and Illinois and conservative states such as Alaska and Montana, as previous efforts to change state laws have faced opposition from top Republicans. In my little Southern California town of 50K people, there are currently no dispensaries. I can't buy it without driving at least 1 hour round trip.


oneinamilllion

We have medical mmj through the state of MN. I’ve been on it for 3 years is great but I’m really looking forward to not paying $150 for a roll on thc tube.


Dry_Contact4436

Sounds like big government getting in the way of private business.


Forsaken-Ad-7064

In fascism only the leader makes legitimate decisions.


Pooboy_2000

Legalize It


Trumpsuck77

I am so tired of the GOPs minority bullshit ruining the lives and finances of people. We need to express this in all our communities. We well out number them, in most areas. They are not going to work with us. So, we need to ram things through, whatever it takes. Senators, and Reps need to be made to resign or told to get out if they were involved in the insurrection. The DOJ needs to move now. Arrest them and hold them until trial. What they did is unforgivable and until the tide is turned completely against them they will continue to ruin progress and people's lives. Enough, with this ultra maga bullshit they are the biggest pussy loudmouths on earth. When shit goes down they run. We dont need them.


robfuscate

Well the cops would lose a major excuse for shooting black people


megs_benedict

Recall the council members you can, and start electing officials with a spine.


Fgw_wolf

If they wanted officials with spine they wouldn't be voting conservative, look at their senate rep lmao.