Texas District Attorney smoking weed

By Sarah Bahari
The Dallas Morning News

(The Dallas Morning News) — A Republican district attorney in West Texas embarked on a highly public campaign to protest the state’s ban on marijuana: She lit up.

Sarah Stogner, district attorney for Ward County, smoked a joint live Saturday on TikTok.

The video showed the 41-year-old sitting under a tree outside her home in Ward County smoking weed she said she purchased legally in New Mexico, as roosters crowed in the background.

Stogner’s position puts her at odds with most elected leaders in her party, at least in Texas. Texas lawmakers are considering a ban on hemp-derived tetrahydrocannabinol — or THC, the psychoactive compound in cannabis plants. Last week, the Texas Senate passed Senate Bill 5, which would criminalize gummies, vapes, drinks, snacks and smokable flowers containing any amount of THC.

Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed a similar bill in June and called for regulation, not prohibition, but Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is pushing for a full ban. The district attorney appeared to taunt Patrick and others before her social media stunt.

“Come and take it,” she wrote on X.

This is not the first time Stogner has captured attention for her risque political methods. In 2022, she posted a campaign ad of herself riding nearly naked on an oil field pump jack. She ultimately lost the race for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission, but she gained attention and headlines from across the state and beyond.

In 2024, Stogner, an oil and gas attorney and vocal critic of President Donald Trump, ousted a longtime Democratic district attorney in the West Texas county home of Monahans.

If the marijuana bill passes, Stogner said in a written statement, it would slow the state’s economy, clog the court system and hamper efforts to fight violent crime.

Stogner also conceded that she could face legal repercussions of her own after smoking weed. She indicated she was not overly concerned.

“Bring it on,” she wrote. “It’s time to regulate, not ban, cannabis. It’s a plant that grows in nature, with positive uses. Enough is enough.”