The revelation comes two months before Houston voters could force the department to deprioritize misdemeanor marijuana enforcement.
Under Mayor John Whitmire, Houston police officers have arrested about 440 people per year for misdemeanor marijuana possession — up from an annual average of about 35 from 2021 through 2023 — according to data obtained by Houston Public Media.
The revelation comes two months before voters could instruct the Houston Police Department (HPD) to make “misdemeanor marijuana possession its lowest possible enforcement priority.” Progressive advocacy organization Ground Game Texas said it collected about 40,000 signatures on the petition for the ballot measure, approved by the city council in August.
“That’s just wild,” Catina Voellinger, executive director of Ground Game Texas, said in response to the data. “That just makes the case even stronger of why we need these policies.”…