This is where Dallas' early voters stand on decriminalizing small amounts of weed

The Dallas Morning News is live election results for local, state and national races.

About 65% of early returns in Dallas supported decriminalization small amounts of marijuanaAccording to preliminary unofficial results, its recreational use is still illegal in Texas.

Proposition R would amend the city charter to prohibit police from arresting or citing individuals suspected of possessing four ounces or less of marijuana, except when part of a crime investigation involving violence or narcotics.

It also would not allow police to consider the odor of marijuana as probable cause for a search or seizure. It would prohibit city trusts or employees from testing cannabis-related substances to determine whether they meet the legal definition of marijuana.

“There are a lot of people in jail for small amounts of marijuana, and that shouldn’t be the case,” said Enoch Correa, 33, who voted on Election Day at the Jaycee Zaragoza Recreation Center in West Dallas.

Another voter who supported the proposal was Magdaleno Huitron, 43 years old. He believes that people should have the freedom to use marijuana for personal use, especially if they are using it to calm their anxiety.

“People shouldn’t be punished for using marijuana to relax and then having something on their record for the rest of their lives just for that,” Huitron says.

The proposal, also called the Dallas Freedom Act, is supported by the nonprofit Ground game Texaswhich received at least 20,000 signatures from valid voters in support.

Natalie Marquez, local field director for the Dallas Freedom Act, said the early votes show the Dallas community has decided it’s time for change.

“This decisive victory is very loud and clear when it comes to the state government’s outdated approach to marijuana regulation, which has unnecessarily criminalized countless parts of Texas,” Marquez said.

Dallas would become the largest city in Texas to ban arrests for low-level marijuana possession if voters approve the proposal. It would also likely put the city in the crosshairs of state leaders as Attorney General Ken Paxton sued other cities, such as Austin and Denton, where voters in recent years have approved ordinances decriminalizing small amounts of pot.

What are the marijuana laws in Texas?

Dallas City Council members Chad West, Adam Bazaldua, Zarin Gracey and Jaime Resendez announced their support for an amendment to Dallas’ decriminalization charter in June.

Mayor Eric Johnson and council members Carolyn King Arnold, Cara Mendelsohn and Kathy Stewart voted against advancing the proposal to the election ballot. The Dallas Morning News previously reported.

West Dallas resident Geneva Santoya, 34, voted against the proposal because she doesn’t want marijuana use to be normalized.

“I don’t want children to be exposed to it, and if we don’t punish its use like we do with other drugs, then everyone will do it,” Santoya said.

Medical marijuana use is legal through a state program and hemp, the plant from which CBD comes, has also been approved by state and federal regulators.

A poll of 1,200 Texans released in May found that 60% of them supported state legalization of the drug for recreational use.

“Marijuana is a herb, not a crime,” Nelson, a longtime marijuana advocate, said in an Instagram story on Oct. 11. “Proposition R in Dallas is about fairness and freedom. I am proud to support the fight against decriminalization. Vote Prop R!”

Texas THC Controversy and Young Woman Wrongfully Imprisoned for Legal Delta-8 Fuel Readers