AG Paxton sues Denton, other Texas cities that adopted marijuana amnesty policies

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing five Texas cities saying they've violated state law by "adopting amnesty and non-prosecution policies" for marijuana possession and distribution.

In a series of lawsuits, the attorney general's office is targeting the cities of Denton, Austin, San Marcos, Killeen, and Elgin claiming they illegally adopted ordinances or policies instructing police to not enforce state laws concerning the possession of marijuana.

In November 2022, voters in Denton approved a proposition to decriminalize some marijuana offenses, ending citations and arrests for misdemeanor possession of marijuana. Even though it was voter-approved, city leaders said implementing the policy was tough because it was superseded by the ‘Texas Code of Criminal Procedure,’ which required officers to enforce state law.

KXAN-TV in Austin reported in January 2020 that the state capital was not decriminalizing marijuana possession, but rather deprioritizing it because such cases were a waste of resources and because the cases weren't being prosecuted.

Paxton's office said in a statement that "Texas Local Government Code forbids any political subdivision from adopting 'a policy under which the entity will not fully enforce laws relating to drugs.' Further, the Texas Constitution notes that it is unlawful for municipalities to adopt ordinances that are inconsistent with the laws enacted by the Texas Legislature."

“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,” said Paxton in a statement. “This unconstitutional action by municipalities demonstrates why Texas must have a law to ‘follow the law.’ It’s quite simple: the legislature passes every law after a full debate on the issues, and we don’t allow cities the ability to create anarchy by picking and choosing the laws they enforce.”

In his statement, Paxton did not specify which city leaders he considers to be a "pro-crime extremist," but in each of the five suits filed by his office, he named the city's mayor, each member of the city council, the city manager and the police chief as defendants.

Though district attorneys were not named on the lawsuits, Paxton said he'll continue going after "rogue district attorneys whose abuse of prosecutorial discretion has contributed to a deadly national crime wave."

The City of Denton sent NBC 5 a statement Wednesday afternoon:

"We are aware of the Attorney General’s lawsuit and subsequent news release, but do not comment on pending litigation."

STATE OF TEXAS VS AUSTIN, DENTON, ELGIN, KILLEEN AND SAN MARCOS