Austin voters to decide on decriminalizing small amounts of weed and banning no-knock warrants in May

Austin voters will be asked in May if they want to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana and do away with no-knock warrants. The Austin City Council has also adopted a policy against the use of no-knock warrants, but the police department has yet to write it into its manual. The ban, if approved by voters, would outright prohibit no-knock warrants and require officers serving warrants to knock, announce their presence and wait 15 seconds before entering. The nonprofit collected more than 30,000 signatures last year, and the Austin City Clerk verified these signatures last week. Once a petition is certified, the Austin City Council has several options: They can either make the policies city law or put them on a ballot.