By Tom Angell

 

The two largest cities in Tennessee could soon have new policies that replace many would-be marijuana arrests with fines.

On Tuesday, the Nashville Metro Council gave initial approval to a bill that would reduce the penalty for possessing up to a half-ounce of cannabis to a $50 civil penalty or 10 hours of community service.

Separately, a city councilman in Memphis announced on Wednesday that he intends to introduce a similar proposal next week.

In Nashville, the decriminalization bill was approved on first reading by a vote of 32-4 with one abstention and two members not voting. But first reading votes are largely procedural matters that allow legislation to move forward to committees for vetting and are not necessarily indicative of where members stand on the policy issue at hand.

Councilman Doug Pardue, who opposes decriminalization, said the Metro Nashville Police Department wasn’t properly consulted in the drafting, and that the bill would remove officers’ discretion by saying they “shall” levy fines in lieu of making arrests.

Councilman Dave Rosenberg, the proposal’s sponsor, says he’ll work with the department to address any concerns.

“It’s just giving police officers an additional tool to deal with much of society recognizes as a minor crime,” he said. “I think if you look at the poll numbers people feel the biggest harm in marijuana is marijuana laws.”

He added, “A criminal record for a simple mistake is something that follows people around for a long time, and makes it more difficult for them to get a job, earn a living and go about their lives.”

The legislation now heads to the Council’s Metro Public Safety, Beer and Regulated Beverages Committee and, if approved there, will come back to the full Council for two more votes.

The similar Memphis proposal is set to be introduced on Tuesday by Councilman Berlin Boyd.

A press release from Boyd’s office said he “believes that it is time to recognize, as has been done in many other municipalities across the country, that bringing individuals into the burdensome and expensive criminal justice system is not commensurate with the crime of possessing a small amount of marijuana.”

Under current state law, possessing small amounts of marijuana is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of $2,500. A bill to allow nonbinding advisory ballot questions on marijuana decriminalization died in the Tennessee Senate in April.

The Nashville and Memphis proposals are the latest in a series of moves by municipalities around the country to reconsider local marijuana penalties. In recent months, cities and towns in Florida, Illinois and Louisiana have enacted similar measures.