Nashville May Decriminalize Small Amounts of Pot

The penalty for possessing small amounts of pot could be the same as a parking ticket under an ordinance the Metro Council will consider for the first time Tuesday.

The council bill would make possession or casual exchange of a half-ounce or less of marijuana punishable with a $50 civil penalty, similar to a parking ticket. In addition, a judge could have the discretion to order 10 hours of community service in lieu of the fine.

This is far below the state penalty, which calls for up to a year of jail time and a fine of up to $2,500 and treats the offense as a Class A misdemeanor and can tag the offender with a life-long criminal record.

Dave Rosenberg. the Bellevue councilmember who is one of the three sponsors for the bill, says Metro altering the way it treats small-potatoes drug offenders does not run afoul of that state law, pointing to state law that treats littering as a misdemeanor, with the penalty based on the cubic footage of the litter in question. Metro treats littering as a codes violation.

"This would work the same way. This is just a separate local ordinance parallel to the state law," Rosenberg said.

Rosenberg said a number of local governments in Florida have passed similar ordinances with no pushback from the legislature in Tallahassee.

The other sponsors of the bill are Freddie O'Connell, who represents the urban core, and Green Hills councilmember Russ Pulley, a former Virginia state trooper and FBI agent.

Metro and the state legislature have had a somewhat contentious relationship in recent years, with the General Assembly using a legal doctrine known as Dillon's Rule to overturn or outflank Metro efforts at, among other things, a non-discrimination ordinance, an affordable housing initiative and local decision-making on charter schools. The legislature, however, does not return until January and, notably, in its last session, overwhelmingly and with bipartisan support, made third-offense simple possession a misdemeanor rather than a felony.

The Metro Council meets Tuesday, August 16 at 6:30 PM at the Metro Courthouse.

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