The Metro Council approved a lighter penalty for marijuana possession on Tuesday, but could be inviting the city’s latest battle with state lawmakers.
The measure does not decriminalize the drug, but gives Nashville police the option of issuing a $50 fine instead of making an arrest.
“All this bill does is give police the option of not treating someone with a little pot like a hardened criminal,” said Councilman Dave Rosenberg, the lead sponsor. “When you start treating good members of our society like criminals, they begin acting like criminals.”
The bill passed 35-3, with supporters saying they hope police will choose to hand out citations.
But that officer discretion — and how the local law will be different than state code — worries Councilman Steve Glover.
“If you get pulled over by the wrong person, the wrong police officer, the state trooper, you will go to jail for this,” Glover said. “I think we’re sending conflicting information.”
Lawmaker Considers Funding Penalty
A similar concern has drawn the attention of state Rep. William Lamberth, R-Cottontown, who has threatened to penalize Nashville by withholding some portion of its state highway funds, which top $110 million.
“They’re giving unfettered discretion to every single officer to treat people differently for the same crime,” Lamberth told WPLN. “Everyone should know what the rules are ahead of time and know what the potential penalties are, and then that should be fairly applied to each individual.”
Lamberth, who previously led a change to state law to eliminate felony charges for possession, called Metro’s effort “not true decriminalization,” although he stopped short of saying that’s what he wants to see.
“I don’t want to go down this path. But I’m not going to stand by and let two different individuals face drastically different penalties,” Lamberth said. “There is no precedent for this.”
Lamberth says he is waiting for a legal opinion from the state attorney general before taking further action.
But members of the Metro Council said the marijuana fine is legal and has been vetted.
Some members who work as lawyers — including Larry Hagar and Nick Leonardo — say this approach will deal with low-level charges much like judges do now but without tying up the courts.
Mayor Megan Barry said she’ll sign the ordinance as a step toward “addressing the overly punitive treatment of marijuana possession in our state that disproportionately impacts low-income and minority residents.”
“It is important to stress that this ordinance is not a license to sell, possess, or use marijuana in Nashville,” Barry said in an emailed statement. “When this ordinance becomes law, police officers will still have the ability to make arrests or issue state criminal citations for marijuana possession as circumstances warrant.”
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