On Aug. 12, Houston put Proposition A on the Nov. 3 ballot to make misdemeanor marijuana possession HPD's lowest enforcement priority

On Aug. 12, 2026, the Houston City Council approved a ballot referendum asking city voters whether to deprioritize police enforcement of misdemeanor marijuana possession and ban no-knock warrants, Houston Public Media reported. The council acted after the progressive advocacy organization Ground Game Texas submitted a petition with more than 40,000 signatures, about 15,000 more than required under city code, according to Houston Public Media. The measure appears on the Nov. 3, 2026, ballot as City of Houston Proposition A.

The City of Houston's election page lists the ballot language: "Shall the City Charter of the City of Houston be amended to 1) require the Houston Police Department to make enforcement of Class A and Class B misdemeanor marijuana possession its lowest law-enforcement priority with related reporting requirements and 2) prohibit Houston police officers from requesting or executing “no knock” search warrants?" The proposed charter article, titled the Houston Freedom Act, would also state a city policy of supporting diversion options, where legally permissible, for people accused of Class A or Class B misdemeanor marijuana possession; allow officers with probable cause to seize a substance they believe is marijuana, with a written report; and require the city's budget and annual reporting to show the funds and staff time spent on THC concentration testing.

Houston Public Media reported that in Texas, possession of up to 4 ounces of marijuana is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine, and that a Harris County District Attorney's Office program already lets officers divert people from jail into a 90-day community supervision and a four-hour cognitive class. Houston Public Media also reported that Ground Game Texas passed similar measures in other cities, such as Austin and San Marcos, but lost a court fight against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and that the group's executive director, Catina Voellinger, said the latest petition language was crafted with legal challenges in mind. An HPD spokesperson declined to provide figures on cannabis-related arrests, referring the station to the public records process.

In an Oct. 7 explainer, FOX 26 Houston reported that voters will cast one vote for or against the amendment rather than voting separately on its marijuana and warrant provisions, and that the measure includes a one-time audit covering five years of misdemeanor marijuana enforcement, followed by annual public reports. FOX 26 reported that the measure concerns city policy and would not repeal Texas marijuana laws or make marijuana possession legal. Natalie Marquez of Ground Game Texas told FOX 26 that the initiative "doesn't supersede state law," while Tom Hogan, a professor at South Texas College of Law Houston, told the station that a lower enforcement priority would not guarantee an officer declines to pursue a case. Hogan also opposes a blanket ban on no-knock warrants, FOX 26 reported.

Current status: as of Oct. 18, 2026, the measure remains on the Nov. 3 ballot, with early voting from Oct. 19 to Oct. 30, according to FOX 26 Houston. No court ruling on Proposition A was found.