Battle lines being drawn as petition to decriminalize marijuana in Killeen moves to City Council

June 12, 2022
AggregatedNews
Texas
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After six months of gathering signatures for their petition, a group wanting to decriminalize low-level marijuana possession is scheduled to speak with the Killeen City Council on Tuesday with a goal to get the measure on the city ballot in November.

It will be the first time the council will be presented by the group and its petition, which aims to pass a city ordinance requiring Killeen police officers to ignore marijuana possession cases of less than 2 ounces — which remains illegal at the state and federal levels. The issue also raises questions on how such a city law would jive with — or flat out contradict — a state law that has been on the books for decades. And it may put sworn Killeen Police Department officers in an awkward spot: Enforce the Texas law or turn a blind eye to that sack of weed?

The group of local politicians includes Killeen businessman Louie Minor and Harker Heights resident Stacey Wilson, who are running for spots on the Bell County Commissioners Court; Shirley Fleming, a former Killeen mayor pro tem; and Julie Oliver, an Austin-based activist who ran for Congress in 2020.

The Killeen effort is part of a greater push by Oliver’s organization, Ground Game Texas, to decriminalize marijuana statewide. The organization was able to get a similar item on the Austin ballot in May, where it passed overwhelmingly by voters. [Read More @ Killeen Daily Herald]

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