Houston will vote on marijuana deprioritization and banning no-knock raids, the Trump administration uses funny numbers as it rolls out a "treatment first" initiative for the homeless, and more. 

[image:1 align:left caption:true]

Marijuana Policy

Houston Will Vote on Deprioritizing Marijuana Enforcement, Banning No-Knock Drug Raids. Residents of the nation's fourth-largest city will vote in November on an initiative calling for the deprioritization of marijuana law enforcement and a ban on no-knock drug raids. The city council on Wednesday approved the measure for the ballot after the progressive advocacy group Ground Game Texas handed in some 40,000 valid voter signatures, 15,000 more than need to qualify under the city code. 

Under state law, possession of up to four ounces of marijuana is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine and up to a year in jail. This measure would direct the Houston Police Department (HPD) to make misdemeanor cannabis possession its "lowest possible enforcement priority." Ground Game Texas has passed similar measures in cities such as Austin and San Marcos, but state Attorney General (and current GOP Senate candidate) Ken Paxton prevailed in a court fight against such measures. Ground Game Texas said the Houston language was crafted with that challenge in mind. 

The measure would also ban no-knock search warrants, a practice that came under intense criticism in the city after a 2019 no-knock raid on Harding Street left two innocent civilians who fired on the intruding officers dead. The city has since restricted such raids, but this measure would ban them outright, requiring officers to "knock and announce their presence and wait at least 15 seconds prior to execution" for all search warrants.

"This is just good policy," Ground Game Texas director Catina Voellinger said. "Harding Street raids were in the back of our minds when crafting this policy and hearing from the pain that still resonates with lots of Houstonians still to this day." She also referred to the policy changes in the measure as "class struggle."

Drug Treatment

White House Announces "Treatment First" Campaign with New Best Practices Toolkit. The Trump administration on Tuesday rolled out a "Best Practices Toolkit: Addressing Homelessness and Addiction Through Treatment First" at an event in San Diego. This toolkit advances a "Treatment First" model that "prioritizes coordinated and accountability-driven engagement in evidence-based treatment and recovery support services to ensure access to effective, comprehensive, and evidence-based care necessary for homeless individuals."

"Treatment must come first. Recovery begins when we connect people with effective care, not leave them trapped in addiction and homelessness," said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. 

The effectiveness of a "treatment first" policy—which requires sobriety or psychiatric care before providing permanent housing—is hotly debated. Proponents argue it promotes personal responsibility and self-sufficiency. However, most empirical studies suggest it is less effective than "Housing First" models at achieving long-term housing stability and reducing mortality

The White claimed that "75% of homeless Americans are addicted to drugs," but the American Addiction Centers says fewer than half that number have drug problems, reporting that "about one-third of people who are homeless have problems with alcohol and/or drugs."

A 2023 study from the University of California-San Francisco found that 37.1 percent of participants were regularly using illicit drugs, while more than half reported no illegal substance use in the past six months. Nearly a quarter of respondents said they began using drugs as a coping mechanism after becoming homeless.

"The lack of representative research on homelessness risks mischaracterizing and misrepresenting the prevalence of illicit substance use," the study's authors wrote. That is what the Trump administration appears to have done with its take on the homeless drug use numbers.

International

Australian State Considers Putting Marijuana Legalization Before Voters. The upper house of parliament in Victoria will decide this week whether to approve a non-binding referendum on marijuana legalization, the Cannabis Legalization Plebiscite Bill 2026. The measure would ask voters to pick "yes or no" on whether they support legalizing marijuana for personal use and home cultivation by adults. 

The bill was filed by David Ettershank, Legalize Cannabis MP for the Western Metropolitan Region. He argued that pot prohibition is a failed policy that has caused significant harms while failing to reduce marijuana use. 

"Most Victorians I speak to feel as though the government isn’t responding to what the community wants — that they are out of touch. By allowing Victorians to have their say through a plebiscite, we can get on with what the community wants and get government to act," said Legalize Cannabis leader Rachel Payne.

Only the Australian Capital Territory has legalized pot possession—but not sales—allowing adults to possess up to 50 grams and grow up to two plants. In South Australia and the Northern Territory, pot possession is decriminalized but subject to civil penalties, and in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, and Tasmania, marijuana possession remains illegal.