Texas cities vote to decriminalize low-level marijuana possession // On Tuesday, residents of five Texas cities voted for decriminalization of low-level marijuana possession by ballot initiatives. It comes months after Austin residents voted to decriminalize marijuana. The proposition states that “police officers shall never issue citations nor make arrests Class A or B misdemeanor marijuana offenses,” except when marijuana is seized in a larger narcotics investigation. After advocacy groups helped to get the marijuana question on ballots in Austin, San Marcos, Killeen and Elgin, Harker Heights followed Austin’s example, according Fox7 Austin. Texas still makes marijuana illegal at the state level. In 2019, and 2021, the Texas House passed a bill to lower the penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana. However, both bills were defeated in the state Senate. MIDTERM ELECTIONS : LIVE UPDATES Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Texas Governor, was re-elected on Tuesday to a third term. He indicated openness to decriminalizing low amounts of marijuana. According to the Texas Tribune, he told a crowd at an earlier campaign event that prison and jail are a place for dangerous criminals who may cause harm to others and that small possession of marijuana was not the type violation that we want jails to be stockpiled with. Maryland and Missouri voted on Tuesday to legalize recreational cannabis. They join 19 other states and Washington D.C. North Dakota, South Dakota, and Arkansas rejected ballot initiatives to legalize the drug.