Marijuana
Ken Paxton (R)
Paxton sued six Texas cities (Austin, San Marcos, Killeen, Elgin, Denton, and Dallas) between 2024 and 2025 over local decriminalization ordinances and ballot measures. He calls cannabis 'an illicit substance that psychologists have increasingly linked to psychosis and other negative consequences.' After SB 3 (the legislative THC ban) failed in two special sessions and Gov. Abbott vetoed it, Paxton's office and DSHS used administrative rulemaking to impose a 'total delta-9 THC' calculation effectively banning most current hemp products. The Texas Hemp Business Council sued Paxton and DSHS in April 2026 over those rules. His position holds that municipalities cannot pick and choose which state laws they enforce.
James Talarico (D)
Talarico would legalize regulated marijuana for adults, expunge past convictions, and use tax revenue for substance-abuse treatment and public-safety programs. He filed HB 4089 in 2021 and HB 5307 in 2025 to legalize adult use (up to 2.5 oz possession, 6 home-grown plants, 12 per household). He was the most visible opponent of Texas's 2025 SB 3 THC ban, calling it 'insane' and 'a gift to the cartels.' On Joe Rogan's podcast he accused Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick of holding a flood-emergency bill hostage to pass the THC ban. He has framed legalization as 'part of ending the racist war on drugs' that has targeted Black and brown Americans.
Sources
- Talarico for Texas, official campaign issues pages (taxes, education, healthcare, immigration, social media/AI, freedom-family-faith, public-safety-justice, corruption-democracy, labor-business), accessed May 2026. (full list)
- Texas Attorney General, 'Attorney General Ken Paxton Sues Five Cities Over Marijuana Policies,' Jan. 2024; lawsuit against Dallas Proposition R, Nov. 2024. (full list)
- Newsweek, 'Texas pushing through THC ban — Here's who's exempt,' May 2025 (Talarico called it 'a gift to the cartels'). (full list)
- Marijuana Herald, March 2025 (HB 5307); KVUE, April 2021 (HB 4089). (full list)