Nashville Approves Lower Pot Penalties

NASHVILLE, TN — Nashville will join a growing list of cities — and the first in Tennessee — that have reduced the penalty for possessing small amounts of marijuana.

The Metro Council voted 35-3 Tuesday on the final reading of a bill that would give police officers the option of issuing a $50 civil penalty — similar to a traffic ticket ― for possessing a half-ounce of marijuana or less. The ordinance also allows judges to instead order 10 hours of community service in lieu of the fine.

"All this bill does is give police the option of not treating someone with a little pot like a hardened criminal. Because when you start treating good members of our society like criminals they beginning acting like criminals," Councilman Dave Rosenberg, the lead sponsor of the bill, said. "As much as as I'd like to think we're cutting-edge on this one, we're not. We're catching up."

Mayor Megan Barry said she will sign the bill.

"This legislation is a positive step forward in addressing the overly punitive treatment of marijuana possession in our state that disproportionately impacts low-income and minority residents," she said in a statement. "It is important to stress that this ordinance is not a license to sell, possess, or use marijuana in Nashville. 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, which is a Class A misdemeanor under state law.”

Nashville judges, interestingly, expressed some concerns about the bill ahead of Tuesday's vote, because it is much harder to have a record of civil proceedings expunged than it is a criminal record. According to Metro code, civil penalties can only be expunged if the matter is dismissed or not prosecuted.

"It comes up often where, especially young people go to get a job or join the Army or go to college or rent an apartment," General Sessions Judge William Higgins told The Tennessean. "As you know all the public records are accessible now and it’s easy to get on Google and check people out. That’s my concern, that they’re not accomplishing as much as they think they might, at least in this respect."

Metro Council attorney Mike Jameson said that a judge could dismiss the civil matter after having received proof the fine was paid, for example.

It remains to be seen what the state legislature's reaction will be. The General Assembly has frequently used the legal principle of Dillon's Rule to countermand municipal law in recent years and Rep. William Lamberth, Republican of Cottontown, said last week he is "strongly considering" a bill that would halt road funding for any cities which do not enforce state penalties for criminal violations.

Memphis' city council is expected to vote on a similar bill next week.

Image via Shutterstock.