Texas
Ken Paxton is suing five Texas cities over their marijuana decriminalization ordinances
Back in 2022, voters in five municipalities in Texas – Austin, Elgin, Killeen, Denton and San Marcos – approved ballot measures that would decriminalize low-level marijuana possession. The initiative was led by Ground Game Texas, a progressive organization whose polity priorities include protections for “workers, wages and weed.”
In all five cities, the ordinances had overwhelming support: 85% of Austin voters were in favor, while Killeen, with the lowest share of votes in favor, still passed the measure with 69% voting “yay.”
Now, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing to block the ordinances, saying they run afoul of state law. In a press release last week, Paxton said the cities “violate the lawful statutes designed to protect the public from crime, drugs, and violence.”
At least one nonprofit, Decriminalize Denton, has said it will be filing a petition to have Paxton’s lawsuit dismissed on the grounds that it has no legal standing. But according to marijuana law expert Frank Snyder of the Texas A&M University School of Law, Paxton may indeed have a case.
Snyder spoke with the Texas Standard about the ordinances, Paxton’s challenge, and what we can expect to see as the legal fight plays out.
This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:
Texas Standard: Five Texas cities passed these ordinances in 2022: Austin, San Marcos, Killeen, Elgin, Denton. Remind us what these ordinances do.
Frank Snyder: Essentially, they prohibit police officers in those cities – and other enforcement officials – from going after low-level marijuana offenses such as possession. Essentially, the ordinance says that the cities are de-prioritizing marijuana enforcement.
And what does de-prioritizing mean?
It means, essentially, that while it’s still illegal, and the police still can do it, they should put that at the very bottom of the list and should not, in fact, be arresting people simply for possession of relatively small amounts of marijuana.
Well, as you’re probably aware, the attorney general says he will “not stand idly by as cities run by pro-crime extremists deliberately violate Texas law.” What sort of argument is he making here, that there is something in particular in these cities that is illegal under Texas law?
Yeah, I mean, shorn of the rhetoric, what he’s basically saying is Texas makes marijuana illegal under its Controlled Substances Act and under the federal Controlled Substances Act. Cities like the ones you mentioned have home rule, which allows them to pass ordinances that have the effect of law so long as under the Texas Constitution, they don’t conflict with the laws passed by the Legislature.
These laws theoretically don’t violate that particular provision. But Texas also has a statute that says no municipality may refuse to enforce the drug laws. That was passed back in 1997, actually. And thus these ordinances directly conflict with state law. And the attorney general is arguing that they therefore can’t stand.
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Well, does Paxton’s lawsuit then hold any legal weight, or is this all about politics? How do you see it?
There may well be politics involved in it, but it looks to me like the suits are very well-grounded. You know, there’s been another suit out, the Bell County-Killeen suit, about whether the county could enforce these things. But ordinarily, the state has the authority to override municipalities’ laws. And therefore, in my view, the suit’s on solid legal grounds.
At least one organization, Decriminalize Denton, is seeking to have this lawsuit dismissed. Where do you see this headed?
Well, they’re making an interesting – I haven’t seen their paperwork, but I’ve heard about it – they’re making an argument that, in fact, it’s not really having any effect, and therefore the suit is moot; there’s no reason to bring the lawsuit.
My view in the courts is that Paxton is likely to prevail. Now, what that entails – I mean, how you go about ordering the city officials to enforce laws that they don’t want to enforce – that’s where things get tricky. Charging someone with not enforcing the law, when in fact, district attorneys have discretion about how to go about their duties, that raises really interesting questions.
These cities, in some respects, don’t seem to be outliers, to the extent that you can go just about anywhere in Texas – go to a truckstop or a convenience store – and you’ll see gummies and and vapes and other products for sale. Many of these products claim to contain THC-9.
It doesn’t seem like there’s a big push in the first place, even in some of the cities that have not passed these ordinances. And I’m just curious about how that lack of enforcement or apparent lack of enforcement might come into play here in these arguments.
I think that’s a really great point. One of the things that’s complicating things is how complicated the marijuana regulations are now. Plants with THC levels above 0.3 are illegal. But if you take hemp and you process it enough, you will get some THC out of it, which is theoretically legal under the federal farm bill.
And so nobody really has figured out exactly where the line is on these products. And they’re flooding the market, which makes it very difficult for police to spend time, you know, wandering through convenience stores, looking for products like this.
And so the advantage of a low-level enforcement prohibition is that it stops police from taking lots of time trying to figure those things out. So that’s what the voters presumably had in mind when they passed these ordinances.
A Brazilian fitness influencer has died after getting into difficulty during the swimming portion of an ironman event in Texas.
Mara Flavia Souza Araujo was reported as a “lost swimmer” around 7.30am at the Ironman Texas in Lake Woodlands near Houston on Saturday. According to KPRC 2 News, safety crews could not immediately locate Araujo. The 38-year-old’s body was discovered around 90 minutes later in 10ft of water by divers. She was pronounced dead on the scene.
Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department confirmed her identity in a statement to NBC on Monday.
“MCSO can confirm that Mara Flavia Souza Araujo, 38, of Brazil died while competing in the Ironman event in The Woodlands on Saturday,” the sheriff’s department told NBC News. “Preliminary investigations indicate she drowned during the swimming portion of the event.”
Araujo was an experienced triathlete and had completed at least nine ironman events since 2018. She had more than 60,000 followers on Instagram and had posted about the importance of making the most out of life in the days before her death.
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“Enjoy this ride on the bullet train that is life,” she wrote in Portuguese. “And even with the speed of the machine blurring the landscape, look out the window – for at any moment, the train will drop you off at the eternal station.”
Organizers of the race expressed their condolences on Saturday.
“We send our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the athlete and will offer them our support as they go through this very difficult time,” race organizers said in a statement on Saturday. “Our gratitude goes out to the first responders for their assistance.”
A glamorous triathlete who drowned during an Ironman competition in Texas shared a photo from a swimming pool during a final training session just two days before the tragic race.
Brazilian influencer Mara Flávia, 38, shared the shot of her on the edge of a pool on Thursday — two days before she vanished during an open-water swim in The Woodlands Saturday morning.
“Just another day at work,” Flávia, 38, wrote in Portuguese alongside the pic of her wearing a matching pink swimming costume and cap.
The influencer, who had more than 60,000 followers online, chose the Robin S track “Show Me Love” for her post with the hashtags “triathlon,” “swimming” and “triathlete.”
Flávia vanished during an open-water swim in The Woodlands Saturday morning – the first of three grueling trials that competitors face during the 140-mile race.
Fire crews were told about a “lost swimmer” at around 7:30 a.m., one hour into the pro-female swim, KPRC reported.
Rescuers battled challenging visibility conditions before Flávia’s body was pulled from the water just after 9:30 a.m.
Montgomery County Sheriffs confirmed that the victim “drowned while participating in the swim portion of the event,” according to a statement. The office said its Major Crimes unit will continue the investigation “per normal protocols.”
Shawn McDonald, a volunteer, recounted the commotion before the swimmer’s body was recovered.
The dad, who volunteered with his daughter Mila, 12, said a group of younger volunteers in a kayak raised a flag and blew their whistles, “yelling for help.”
“I heard them say she went under,” he wrote on Facebook.
“I had Mila hand me the paddle and I started calling out to the athletes around us to stop so I could cross. I made my way over in about 30 seconds.
“When I got there and asked what happened, they all said the same thing: She went under. Right here. Right below us. The panic and fear on their faces won’t leave me for a long time.”
The volunteer recalled how one man had a “thousand-yard stare” on his face – before diving into the water in a desperate bid to find Flávia.
“I dove in immediately and began searching. After about a minute underwater, I felt her body with my foot. I surfaced, took what seemed like the deepest breath I have ever taken and went back down. She was gone.”
Boats with sonar combed the area – and McDonald was told to leave the water before the body was recovered.
“The victim was found in about 10 feet of water on the bottom of the lake,” Buck said. “The dive team accessed the victim, brought her up about 9:37 and then brought her over to the shore where she was pronounced DOS [deceased on scene],” Palmer Buck, the Woodlands fire chief, said.
It’s not known what caused the triathlete to go under the water.
Journalism grad Flávia previously worked in radio and television before pursuing a sporting career at age 28.
She previously twice won the Brazilian Grand Prix, and finished third in the Brasilia triathlon event.
Lady Vols basketball is looking to add more pieces to its 2026-27 roster with high-level experience. After completing her junior season at Texas A&M, Fatmata Janneh has emerged as a Tennessee target for her final year of eligibility. According to her Instagram story on Sunday night, she is in Knoxville.
With the Aggies a year ago, the 6-foot-2 forward averaged 11.4 points per game on 43.3% shooting from the field. She also showed off an ability to hit from range, posting 1.1 makes per game on 33% shooting from three.
Perhaps Janneh’s biggest strength is her rebounding, though. She ripped down 9.7 boards per contest, good for the fifth-most in the SEC. This featured 2.6 rebounds on the offensive end per outing.
Janneh also averaged 1.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.4 blocks per game. She appeared in 27 games, starting in each.
More From RTI: How Watching The NCAA Tournament Drew Terrence Hill Jr. To Tennessee Basketball
Janneh started her career with a pair of seasons at St. Peter’s. As a sophomore, she averaged a double-double, posting 18.2 points and 11.6 rebounds per game. This made her a sought-after transfer in the portal before landing at Texas A&M as the nation’s leading defensive rebounder. As a freshman, she averaged 11.0 points and 8.0 rebounds.
The forward is from London, England, attending Barking Abbey Sixth Form for her prep ball. She would be the second player from England to join the Tennessee roster if she committed. UT also added the commitment of incoming freshman and former Boston College signee Irene Oboavwoduo this offseason.
So far, Caldwell and the Lady Vols have landed five transfers in this portal cycle. This features Liberty guard Avery Mills, Northern Arizona guard Naomi White, Stanford forward Harper Peterson and Georgia forward Zhen Craft and guard Rylie Theuerkauf.
Tennessee will also roster a pair of incoming freshmen. Four-star recruit and top-50 prospect Gabby Minus is staying true to her signing despite the roster overhaul and assistant coaching changes, along with the addition of Oboavwoduo.
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