Tracker category
Local: Houston and Harris County
Local governments in Texas cannot change state drug law, but they decide a lot about how it gets enforced: whether officers arrest or cite, whether prosecutors offer diversion, and where police spend their time. In the Houston area that mostly means the Harris County District Attorney's Office, the Houston Police Department and the Harris County Sheriff's Office.
For how these pieces fit together on an ordinary weeknight in H-Town, read the Houston and Harris County guide.
- PendingLocal Houston and Harris County
Houston votes on Prop A, the marijuana enforcement and no-knock warrant charter amendment
City of Houston voters decide whether HPD must make Class A and Class B misdemeanor marijuana possession its lowest enforcement priority. Election Day is November 3, 2026.
Read the detailsProposition A would add a new article to the Houston City Charter called the Houston Freedom Act. If it passes, the Houston Police Department would have to make enforcement of Class A and Class B misdemeanor marijuana possession (up to four ounces) its lowest possible enforcement priority, unless and until a binding state or federal court act requires otherwise. The text also says the city supports diversion where legally allowed, requires a report when an officer seizes suspected marijuana, calls for budget transparency on THC lab testing, orders a one time audit of five years of misdemeanor marijuana enforcement, sets up annual public reports, and bans no-knock search warrants by Houston police.
What it does not do: it does not legalize marijuana, it does not change state law, and it does not bind the Harris County District Attorney, the Sheriff's Office, DPS or any other agency. Possession stays a crime under the Texas Health and Safety Code either way. Houston City Council ordered the election in August 2026 after a petition drive. State courts have already ruled against similar voter-approved ordinances in other Texas cities, so expect any outcome to be argued over. We will update this entry with the result.
- SignedLocal Houston and Harris County
HPD joins the Harris County cite and release program, with marijuana routed to diversion
A City of Houston executive order put HPD into the county's cite and release program for some misdemeanors. Misdemeanor marijuana possession was handled through the county's marijuana diversion program instead.
Read the detailsCite and release lets an officer write a citation and a court date instead of booking someone into jail for certain Class A and Class B misdemeanors, under Article 14.06 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Houston's Executive Order 1-68 listed misdemeanor marijuana possession (four ounces or less) as excluded from cite and release because those cases go through the Misdemeanor Marijuana Diversion Program. In 2026 HPD told reporters it has no general order telling officers whether to arrest for misdemeanor possession, so practice can vary by officer and situation.
- In effectLocal Houston and Harris County
Harris County launches the Misdemeanor Marijuana Diversion Program
The Harris County District Attorney's Office began offering eligible adults caught with up to four ounces a pre-charge diversion: complete a class and no charge is filed.
Read the detailsThe program is a pre-charge agreement between the DA's office and local law enforcement. Eligible adults (17 and older) complete an education program and, if they finish, have no record of an arrest or charge for that possession. People are not eligible if, for example, they are on felony probation, already on a Harris County bond, carrying a handgun along with the marijuana, or caught with it in a corrections facility. The DA's office says the program remains in effect, and eligibility was broadened after the current DA took office in 2025. Diversion is an offer, not a right, and it does not make possession legal.
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