I admire a well-done political stunt.
Sarah Stogner
A West Texas district attorney may qualify for prison time after smoking a joint on TikTok this month in a legal gamble protesting a proposed state ban on THC.
On a TikTok live stream, Sarah Stogner — the district attorney of the state’s 143rd judicial district — said she traveled to New Mexico to buy cannabis before rolling it back in Texas. She challenged Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, head of the Texas Senate who has backed the ban, before making the likely illegal trip across state lines.
“You might want to guard the New Mexico border on Saturday,” Stogner wrote on X. “I’m going to a dispensary to buy a joint. And then I’m going to smoke it in my backyard at 4:20 pm. Come and take it.”
Stogner, who lives west of Odessa, later posted a selfie, captioned “Free the plant Dan,” with the joint between her lips. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
While cannabis is legal in New Mexico, Texas outlaws its possession as a Class B misdemeanor, which can lead to as many as 180 days in jail and up to a $2,000 fine. On the federal level, marijuana remains illegal. And though a legal expert — Dallas-based defense attorney Alison Grinter Allen — told the Chronicle it could be difficult to prove in court in this case, transporting marijuana across state lines is subject to federal prosecution with a potential five-year prison sentence or $250,000 fine, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency.
Penalties get harsher as the amount of transported marijuana increases in size, according to federal law.
While it’s unclear if Stogner will be prosecuted for apparently breaking the cannabis laws, she has told the New York Times she lined up a defense lawyer and notified the local judge.
Putting yourself at risk like that for the purpose of making a statement is worth admiring, especially at a time like this. Stogner is not a newbie when it comes to getting attention, so good for her. And as committed to that THC ban as Dan Patrick is, he can’t get anywhere as long as the House lacks a quorum.