How this score is worked out
Seven kinds of act move this number, and they do not count equally. A recorded vote counts 3, and so does authoring a bill or signing an executive action; signing on to somebody else’s bill counts 2. A statement or a questionnaire answer counts 2 as well, and an organisational endorsement counts 1. A vote takes its direction from the bill, whose effect is set out in advance; the rest take it from our reading of what was said, and each one below shows that reading and the reason for it. Acts shown with no number were examined and deliberately left out of the arithmetic, with a reason given.
- 2020-03-04 executive action — Restated a commitment to continue prosecuting marijuana cases when testing capacity had led other Texas prosecutors to stop, counted as -1 at weight 0.9
- 2019-07-02 executive action — A published charging policy continuing marijuana prosecutions at a point when many Texas prosecutors paused them over hemp-testing difficulties, counted as -1 at weight 0.9
- 2017-02-16 statement — Declined to adopt a cite-and-release policy for low-level possession and said his county would continue enforcing possession law as written. A choice to maintain enforcement rather than a change in the law itself, counted as -1 at weight 0.6
Average on the −2 to +2 scale: -1. Full method and the bill table.
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Said2017-02-16
As Montgomery County District Attorney, responding to the newly elected Harris County District Attorney's cite-and-release policy for low-level marijuana possession, he said: "Unlike Harris County, Montgomery County will not become a sanctuary for dope smokers. I swore an oath to follow the law - all the laws, as written by the Texas Legislature. I don't get to pick and choose which laws I enforce,"
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Official act2019-07-02
Issued a charging-policy statement declining to limit marijuana prosecutions after House Bill 1325 legalised hemp, writing: "When a peace officer has developed probable cause to believe that an individual unlawfully possesses marihuana, the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office will continue to accept and file appropriate criminal charges." The same statement said the office would not use the anticipated problems in implementing the new legislation as a pretext to achieve the policy goal of ending prosecution of marihuana cases.
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Said2019-11-12
Asked about the expansion of CBD retail in Montgomery County, he said: "Right now, it's kind of like the wild, wild west when it comes to CBD oil. It's not regulated. It's often times not tested. You don't know where it's being produced from," and described the role of the District Attorney as being to make a decision based on what the community standards are and what the law is.
WeedVoter’s note — shown here, but deliberately left out of the score: A description of an unregulated retail market and of the office's role. It does not state a position for or against lawful access, so it is shown but not scored.
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Official act2020-03-04
In a letter to law enforcement about Texas Department of Public Safety crime-lab capacity to test for THC, he wrote: "I have not changed my commitment to prosecute marijuana cases and will continue to do so," and described asking the State to provide the laboratory with the resources to analyse both misdemeanour and felony cases.