Texas Cannabis LedgerHouston Proposition A and marijuana enforcement: What the data can (and can’t) tell voters
Houston voters will decide Proposition A on November 3, 2026. The measure addresses HPD enforcement priorities for certain misdemeanor marijuana-possession offenses and also proposes a ban on no-knock warrants. Texas Cannabis Ledger records offer county-level context, but they cannot measure HPD’s city-specific enforcement or predict what the proposal would change.
What does Houston Proposition A ask voters to decide?
The official ballot language asks whether to amend the Houston City Charter to make enforcement of Class A and Class B misdemeanor marijuana possession the Houston Police Department’s lowest law-enforcement priority, with related reporting requirements, and to prohibit Houston police from requesting or executing no-knock warrants. The proposed policy includes a court-order exception and addresses HPD priorities; it is not a statewide cannabis-law change.
What the ballot text would require
The proposed charter language describes a five-year retrospective audit of city misdemeanor marijuana enforcement, followed by annual public reporting. The specified information includes arrests, citations, demographic information, diversion referrals, and estimated staff hours. The proposal also calls for budget transparency related to THC testing. Read the City of Houston’s official ballot language for the full text.
Early voting runs October 19–30, 2026. Election Day is November 3. Check the Texas Secretary of State’s election calendar and the city’s official election page for current voter information.
What Harris County’s 2025 record shows
The Texas DPS county/offense workbook contains 1,553 marijuana-coded arrest records for Harris County in 2025, including 1,550 possession-coded records. The Ledger’s calculated rate is 30.8 records per 100,000 residents.
Explore the full Harris County record, including its three-year series, or compare it with the statewide data.
Do these numbers show how many marijuana arrests HPD made?
No. The DPS workbook used by the Ledger is organized by county and offense. It does not identify Houston Police Department arrests separately from other agencies or jurisdictions in Harris County. These are reported records, not necessarily unique people or unique arrest events.
Why county data cannot answer a city-policy question
Harris County is larger than the City of Houston. A county-level total cannot isolate arrests made by HPD, distinguish city limits from other parts of the county, or show how many cases resulted in a citation, diversion, dismissal, or conviction. The DPS source also does not provide the staff-time and cost measures named in the proposed city audit.
For those reasons, the Ledger’s Harris County figure cannot tell readers how many arrests Proposition A would prevent, whether it would change enforcement disparities, or how much money the city might save. It is context about records reported across a county—not an evaluation of the proposal.
What to watch after the vote
If Houston publishes the proposed audit and annual reports, those city-level records could support a more direct look at implementation. A responsible comparison would need the reports’ definitions, time periods, agency scope, and any changes in state law or court rulings. The Texas DPS county series would remain a separate source with a different scope.
For the Ledger’s data definitions and source limitations, see the methodology and the source catalog.