With Democrats poised to take power in Austin and across the state after Tuesday’s blue wave, San Antonio Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (D2) wants the city to build an economic case for state and federal lawmakers to explore legalization of marijuana.
The councilman filed a council consideration request Thursday seeking a study of what medical and adult-use cannabis legalization could mean for San Antonio and Texas, including potential tax revenue, jobs and business investment.
“One of the big things I think many of my constituents have asked, as it relates to marijuana, why hasn’t there been a concerted effort to try to legalize it?” McKee-Rodriguez said. “I think it would be a great economic driver for our city, and so this seeks to answer that question.”
The request comes after Democrats won Texas’ statewide offices and control of the Texas House, though Republicans retained their Senate majority. McKee-Rodriguez, who chairs the council’s Intergovernmental Relations Committee, said those results helped spur his request. The committee is in charge of shaping which issues the city will ask state and federal lawmakers to support.
“I’m thinking a lot about our strategy and pushing San Antonio forward, and some of the opportunities that are available, especially in light of the election on Tuesday,” he said.
McKee-Rodriguez said that the issue of legalization has long been a popular and bipartisan one, but with a change of leadership across the state, he also sees a new opportunity to turn that support into lasting political gains.
“If Democrats legalize marijuana, we will keep Texas blue for 20, 30 years,” he said.
Ultimately, he said, the goal of the study is to give lawmakers economic data that provides another reason, depending on the findings, to pursue a policy he believes they already support.
“If we’re going to be advocating at the state for anything, we need to know why is it good or why is it bad,” McKee-Rodriguez said. “We need to have data actively there so that they can do their job and help us do ours.”
The request asks city staff to compare jurisdictions with established medical and adult-use cannabis markets, examining tax revenue, business investment, employment and wages. It also seeks projections for San Antonio and the surrounding region under different legalization and regulatory scenarios.
The analysis would weigh potential benefits against costs, including regulation and oversight, and examine changes in spending on enforcement, prosecution and incarceration.
Council members Teri Castillo (D5), Ric Galvan (D6), Sukh Kaur (D1) and Edward Mungia (D4) signed the request. San Antonio’s Democratic Socialists of America chapter first announced it in an Instagram post shared jointly with McKee-Rodriguez.
City Council had already approved its legislative agenda for the 90th Texas Legislature last week. McKee-Rodriguez said its provisions on economic development, public safety and criminal justice reform are broad enough to accommodate the study, but its findings could prompt an explicit legalization priority.
Before the city can commission the study, the request must move through the Governance Committee and receive approval from the full council. McKee-Rodriguez said he hopes to have conversations with the mayor to expedite the process of getting the study commissioned.
With the legislative session approaching, McKee-Rodriguez said working with researchers already examining legalization’s statewide impact could help accelerate completion of the study, once commissioned.
“There are people who are doing this work already, who are actively researching what the impacts of legalization could mean for the state,” McKee-Rodriguez said. “I think if we were to work with any of them to more closely analyze the effects in San Antonio, I think it could be an expedited process.”
The 90th Texas Legislature will convene on Jan. 12, 2027. Bill pre-filling begins Nov. 9.
