Starting Monday, voters will decide if Dallas becomes the latest – and largest – city in Texas to decriminalize misdemeanor pot possession.
On Thursday supporters are calling the endorsement of Texas music icon Willie Nelson a huge lift to drive voter turnout.
The 91-year-old said “Marijuana is an herb, not a crime,” in a recent post supporting what’s called “Proposition R” in Dallas.
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Jessica Ramirez works with Ground Game Texas, the Austin-based nonprofit that spent most of the summer collecting enough signatures to place an amendment on the ballot decriminalizing possession of four ounces or less of pot.
“I was in the field getting signatures for this petition and having those genuine conversations with folks – they’re just like ‘Texas needs to come on with it,'" Ramirez said.
Similar pot efforts have passed in Denton and Austin with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton suing both cities saying measures in each violate state law.
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Outgoing police chief Eddie Garcia said in August, that Dallas police officers already don’t enforce possession under two ounces, and warned increasing it to four ounces wouldn’t help lower crime.
Dallas councilmember Cara Mendelsohn said during a briefing in August the measure would benefit “drug dealers and drug houses.”
On Thursday, she told NBC 5 she hopes voters reject all 18 charter amendments on the November 5 ballot, echoing a sentiment she shared in a Dallas Morning News editorial co-authored with Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson earlier this month.
“If people would like to decriminalize or legalize marijuana, they need to be talking to their state reps and state senators, their congressmen and their (U.S.) senators,” Mendelsohn said.
Ramirez said Thursday, Ground Game Texas will work on block-walking and canvassing Dallas neighborhoods this weekend to motivate voters ahead of the start of early voting Monday, for what could be a record-setting turnout on November 5.
She adds having Willie Nelson connected to the effort could make a meaningful impact for undecided voters in Dallas.
“His endorsement means a great deal to us,” Ramirez said.
