City of Houston · Tuesday, November 3, 2026
The Houston Freedom Act
Appears on your ballot as: Houston city charter amendment
Vote FOR
A city charter amendment that would require the Houston Police Department to make enforcement of Class A and Class B misdemeanor marijuana possession its lowest possible priority, bar marijuana odor alone as probable cause for a search, and end no-knock raids by requiring officers serving a search warrant to knock, announce themselves and wait at least 15 seconds before entering.
What it does
Houston City Council voted on August 12, 2026 to place the measure on the November 3 ballot, after Ground Game Texas submitted roughly 40,000 petition signatures against a 20,000-signature requirement. This does not legalize anything. Possession stays illegal under state law, and a city charter cannot override the Penal Code. What it changes is where Houston police spend their time.
Why it matters
Texas has no statewide ballot initiative. City measures like this one are the only cannabis question a Texan votes on directly. Austin, Dallas, Denton, Elgin, Harker Heights, Killeen, San Marcos, Bastrop and Lockhart have all passed similar measures. Attorney General Ken Paxton sued to block several, and so far the state has won: appeals courts struck down the Austin and San Marcos measures, and the Texas Supreme Court declined to hear either city's appeal (San Marcos in September 2025, Austin on December 19, 2025).
The Attorney General race on the same ballot decides who litigates against measures like this one.
What a yes vote does not do
Dallas voters approved a similar measure in 2024 by roughly two to one, and the city later agreed to pause enforcement of it amid litigation. A yes vote is an instruction to city government, not a law the courts have upheld.