In his first public comments on San Marcos’ new marijuana law since the decriminalization referendum passed last November, San Marcos Police Chief Stan Standridge expressed frustration with the “politics” of the new law and doubled down on the relationship between violent crime and marijuana. connection between.
At a Jan. 18 meeting of the San Marcos police chief’s advisory group, Standridge said unidentified individuals within the department had questions about the resulting decriminalization of marijuana.
“They might agree to what I call the gist of the ordinance; they won’t agree to the process of passing it,” he said.
He added that members of the police department were “sadden” by the “politics of how this happened”.
“I think there’s some validity to (sorrow),” he said.
Eighty-two percent of San Marcos voters approved Proposition A in November 2022, informally titled “Re-Vote.” The law, which would legalize the possession of up to 4 ounces of marijuana in the city, is expected to save taxpayers as much as $13 million a year in prosecution and court costs.
The ballot measure began in January 2022 with a windswept movement led by local advocacy group Mano Amiga and statewide voter engagement nonprofit Ground Game Texas. The two groups launched a petition to legalize marijuana on the November ballot, which eventually garnered more than 10,000 signatures to be presented to City Council.
More than 4,600 of those signatures were deemed valid, and the San Marcos City Council made a decision in August—they could have passed the ordinance directly, or sent it to a November ballot for voters to decide. The council decided to send the questions to voters to somehow make citizens’ preferences clear.
On Election Day last November, 15,808 voters approved Proposition A and 3,502 voted against it. The decree takes effect immediately.
Police unions sent mail before Election Day urging voters to oppose the ordinance, and outgoing District Attorney Westmaw asked the Texas attorney general for comment on the ordinance before stepping down in December.
While Standridge said last week that the ordinance was in the “rearview mirror,” he declined to elaborate on how he opposed the ordinance or how it passed.
Standridge declined to elaborate when James Bryant Jr., a member of the Chief’s advisory panel, pressed him about his challenge to the ordinance.
“I don’t want to” reopen the issue, he said.
But the chief did double down on what he said was a link between violent crime in San Marcos and marijuana crime.
“Anecdotal evidence suggests that marijuana is linked to a lot of violent crime in this city,” he said. “I was your chief for 7 days and my first homicide in San Marcos was related to a class B misdemeanor for smoking marijuana.”
He added, “There are plenty of people who can offer anecdotal links between marijuana and violent crime in San Marcos.”
Chief Advisory Group meetings are held quarterly.
Annie Blanks writes for Express-News through Report for America, a national service program that places reporters in local newsrooms. ReportforAmerica.org. annie.blanks@express-news.net.
