After a long wait, the Denton City Council voted against an ordinance that would have decriminalized low-level marijuana offenses.
The Denton City Council turned down the ordinance aiming to put an end to citations and arrests for misdemeanor amounts of marijuana with a 4-3 vote.
The initiative to take a step toward the decriminalization of marijuana in Denton began with a petition circulated by the nonprofit Decriminalize Denton. After obtaining the necessary signatures, Proposition B was put on the ballot last November, and 71% of voters approved it, as The Dallas Express reported.
But right away, opposition emerged among city officials, with City Manager Sara Hensley issuing a memo to the City Council alerting them to the fact that it “does not have the authority to implement some provisions of Proposition B without changes to current drug laws by Congress and the Texas Legislature.”
Before the City Council vote began on June 6, 32 people stood before the elected officials to make their case either for or against the ordinance. Due to the large number, their speaking time was reduced from three to two minutes.
Some speakers, like Julie Oliver of the nonprofit Ground Game Texas, suggested that the city manager’s claim that provisions of the ordinance were unenforceable was erroneous. She cited the 2019 Farm Bill and argued that it allowed for the lawful possession of low-potency marijuana.
Some residents speaking before the council suggested that marijuana has legitimate uses or does not constitute a large threat to society.
For instance, 67-year-old Eva Greco argued that she had never heard of anyone overdosing on marijuana and called what she referred to as the “misinformation” coming from respected officials “an embarrassment.”
Several officers from Denton Police Department also spoke, noting that passing the ordinance would take a very important tool away from officers in preventing violent crime.
For instance, Sgt. Eric Beckwith explained that in his experience as an officer, the ordinance would take away a valuable tool for law enforcement.
Beckwith argued that with decriminalization, “We’re not going to put gang members in jail that are out there committing violent crimes.”
Ultimately, while the ordinance was not passed, Mayor Gerard Hudspeth said that police officers would still exercise discretion when deciding whether or not to cite or arrest individuals holding small amounts of marijuana.
Nick Stevens of Decriminalize Denton told the Dallas Observer that while the council members’ decision not to pass the ordinance was disappointing, the decision does not signal the end of the campaign.
“Ultimately, we’ll have an election in a few months, where apparently now we have to convince people that voting matters,” Stevens said.
The political fallout of Proposition B reared its head in the decision to hold a recall vote for Jesse Davis, council member for District 3, in February. As The Dallas Express reported, a petition calling for Davis’ removal was submitted, citing his lack of support for the marijuana enforcement ordinance as one of the grievances.
Davis was replaced by Paul Meltzer, who received almost 70% of the votes in the recall election held on May 6.