Lubbock to Consider Reducing Enforcement of Marijuana Offenses

Lubbock Citizens Tower/Photo by The Amarillo Pioneer

Lubbock City Council will consider a citizen-submitted ordinance to reduce enforcement of low-level marijuana offenses during their regular meeting on Tuesday.

The “Freedom Act Lubbock” is being considered after a citizen group submitted the necessary petition signatures for the item to go before the council. The proposed ordinance reads that “the Lubbock Police Department shall not make any arrest or issue any citation for Class A or Class B misdemeanor marijuana possession.” The ordinance does leave exceptions for juveniles, high-priority narcotics investigations, or violent felonies.

Under the ordinance, officers are also prohibited from issuing citations for drug residue or drug paraphernalia and will not do THC testing outside of toxicology testing or the investigation of a violent felony offense. Officers will also be prohibited from using marijuana odor as the basis for probable cause.

The council will kick off its regular meeting with a public hearing on the matter at 9:00 am. Following the public hearing, the council will convene in a closed-door executive session meeting to “discuss legal issues” related to the ordinance. After returning to open session, the council will vote on the ordinance.

If the ordinance fails, the committee which initiated the petition may require the item to be placed on the ballot.

The meeting will begin at 9:00 am on Tuesday, November 14th and will be held in the City Council Chambers of Citizens Tower. The full meeting agenda can be found at this link.