Killeen to Decriminalize Marijuana After Austin

After the success of the outing at Austin to decriminalize Marijuana, the Ground Game Texas which is led by Julie Oliver, an Democrat in Austin are already concluding plans to ensure the same is done in other cities such as Killeen and Harker Heights. Other local politicians who have joined Oliver in the advocacy include Louie Minor, a Democrat standing in for election in November, and Shirley Fleming who is a former council member.

The Killeen city council had initially voted unanimously against the proposed ordinance to decriminalize possessions of marijuana in low quantities on Tuesday, 26th of July, 2022. They took this action because they reasoned that it would be best for the voters to decide for themselves whether they should adopt it or not, as such the ordinance has been scheduled to appear on the November ballot.

The ordinance was initiated by Ground Game Texas vide a petition, which was meant to decriminalize the low level possession of marijuana, which is regarded as possession that is less than 4 ounces, the ordinance also contained a provision that prohibited the police from using the smell of Marijuana as a basis for a random stop, search and seizure. Persons present in the Council chambers during the deliberations voiced their concerns as to the effect of the law which in their opinion would place their kids and the law enforcement officers in danger; on the other hand, a former Killeen council member noted that the number of persons that appended their signatures on the petition already showed that this was what they wanted even as they were not coerced to sign the petition. A subsisting council member Jessica Gonzalez described the situation as being the beautiful thing about having diverse opinions, which fueled their desire to move the decision from their desk to the general ballot in November. She advised everyone who had not taken a stance on the issue to adequately inform themselves ahead of the general election in November.

Speaking with reporters, Louie Minor mentioned the need for citizens to begin to act in leadership capacity instead of waiting for the state or federal government to pass the law to decriminalize the product. He shared his experience during the period of collating the signatures, and how he encountered persons who would tell tales of their employment and their lives had taken a different and unfavorable turn because of something as minor as having paraphernalia. The co-founder of Ground Game Texas, Julie Oliver had expressed the belief that the ordinance was certain to be passed one way or another because when the number of signatures that have been obtained is placed into consideration, it can be determined that a good number of persons in the city are desirous of seeing the ordinance go into effect.