Decriminalization

The first messaging on cannabis policy out of the second Trump Administration is that “no action is being considered at this time.”

The Trump White House suggested in a recent document that the voter-approved cannabis decriminalization policy in Washington D.C. has led to “disorder” in the nation’s capital city.

Lawmakers in the Hawaii Senate rejected a proposal to increase the amount of cannabis covered by the state’s decriminalization law.

Indiana House lawmakers have failed to advance any of the proposed cannabis legalization and decriminalization bills this session.

The Tacoma, Washington City Council has unanimously passed a resolution to make prosecutions for entheogenic psychedelics the lowest priority for law enforcement.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton this week filed a lawsuit against the city of Dallas over the city’s new, voter-backed cannabis decriminalization policy.

Cannabis advocates in Idaho are preparing for a 2026 cannabis legalization campaign after another petition to put a medical cannabis legalization question before voters failed to gather enough signatures

Former President Donald Trump suggested during a press conference at his Florida home that he has grown more supportive of the idea of cannabis reforms as the policies gain traction across the country.

Voters in Lockhart, Texas will decide this November whether police will de-prioritize cannabis enforcement; Lockhart voters will be joining Bastrop and Dallas in considering the reforms.

Voters in Bastrop, Texas are set to consider a cannabis decriminalization proposal this November after city officials certified the petition submitted earlier this year.

Officials in Dallas, Texas have given final approval to a cannabis decriminalization petition that will let voters decide this November whether to make low-level cannabis possession the city’s “lowest enforcement priority.”

Advocates in the Texas cities of Bastrop, Dallas, and Lockhart have submitted enough signatures to put a cannabis decriminalization question before voters in each of the cities this November.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) has signed into law bills to regulate consumer hemp products and decriminalize the possession of cannabis paraphernalia.

Brazil’s Supreme Court voted on Tuesday to decriminalize cannabis possession for personal use purposes. The court, however, still needs to set possession limits for what would be considered “personal use” and establish when the reforms will take effect.

A Texas judge has dismissed a lawsuit by Attorney General Ken Paxton that sought to nullify voter-approved local cannabis decriminalization ordinances in Austin, Denton, Elgin, Killeen, and San Marcos.

Dallas could be the next city in Texas to adopt local cannabis decriminalization reforms if the City Council approves the Dallas Freedom Act for local ballots later this month.

South Africa became the first country in Africa to legalize cannabis for personal use last week under a bill signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa just days before the president’s party lost its majority in Congress.

The Hawaii Senate has rejected a cannabis decriminalization proposal over concerns that the reforms would lead to a stronger illicit market in the state.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against five Texas cities and their officials for adopting cannabis decriminalization policies, arguing these policies violate state laws and the state constitution.

Activists in Texas are suing the city of Harker Heights for failing to reform its local cannabis laws after voters approved decriminalization changes in 2022.

A proposal introduced last week in Wisconsin aims to decriminalize possession of up to 14 grams of cannabis by adults and reduce the penalties for possession from a misdemeanor to simple fines.

City Council members in Lubbock, Texas have rejected a cannabis decriminalization proposal, leaving the issue for voters to decide during next year’s election.