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San Marcos City Council sends marijuana decriminalization measure to November ballot

City Clerk Liz Treviño announced the petition's certification in late July. The council certified the signatures on Aug. 2.

SAN MARCOS, Texas — In early June, local organizations Mano Amiga and Ground Game Texas announced they had collected enough signatures to secure a ballot initiative to decriminalize marijuana across the city of San Marcos. In July, those signatures were certified by the city clerk and they have now been certified by the city council.

According to Mano Amiga, City Clerk Liz Treviño sent a memo to the city council validating those signatures on July 27. On Aug. 2, the council certified the signatures, placing the measure on the November ballot.

In June, organizers said they had individually verified more than 4,600 unique signatures. According to City Charter, only 4,182 are required, which is one 10th of the amount of registered voters in San Marcos.

"Clearly, a substantial portion of the San Marcos electorate has spoken and it is now the duty of City Council to afford voters the opportunity to approve it at the ballot box in November. This is true democracy from the ground up, and I'm here for it," said Alyssa Garza, a San Marcos City Council member.

RELATED: Austin votes to decriminalize marijuana, ban no-knock warrants

“Our team, over the last six months, has been overwhelmed with the amount of community members and local businesses that helped make this the biggest ballot initiative this city has ever seen. We’re thrilled to have something on the ballot that young people will be excited to vote on, thus drastically increasing voter turnout and civic engagement,” added Sam Benavides, communications director with Mano Amiga.

According to a report from Community Impact, the measure's current language calls for the elimination of enforcement for those found in possession of 4 ounces or less of marijuana.  

A similar ballot initiative was also recently successful in Austin, with voters casting their votes to pass it. The Austin initiative also banned the use of no-knock warrants.

Ground Game Texas is also working on another marijuana ballot item in Killeen.

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