Criminal to civil: City council changes cannabis changes

The council was adamant that the new law does not in any way legalize, or even truly decriminalize, cannabis. 

The ordinance gives police officers the option to either issue a $50 fine or enforce the current state laws for people caught with less than a half ounce of cannabis. Nashville passed a similar ordinance last week. It is still illegal in the state of Tennessee and a federal crime to possess marijuana. 

“It is illegal,†councilwoman Janis Fullilove said. “Some people in this city believe they will have free reign. They can walk up to an officer and take a hit off a joint and say, ‘now you can’t to a dog-gone thing to me.’â€Â 

Councilman Berlin Boyd, the main proponent of this ordinance, began the meeting explaining how it would benefit the city for the council members to pass it in the wake of much criticism to the ordinance. 

“In 2010, approximately 42 percent of drug arrests were for marijuana possession, costing the state almost $43 million,†Boyd said. “We recognize it is a definite problem and will ultimately save taxpayers’ money, and it is something we feel will benefit the citizens of Memphis.â€Â 

“Treating addiction and substance abuse as a crime will be known as one of the biggest public health tragedies of the modern era.â€Â 

-Tyler Marshall, neuroscience graduate from Rhodes College 

Numerous citizens of Memphis came to the meeting and voiced their opinion on why cannabis should or should not be decriminalized. 

“Treating addiction and substance abuse as a crime will be known as one of the biggest public health tragedies of the modern era,†Tyler Marshall, neuroscience graduate of Rhodes college, said. “Drug use does not cause problems in society like poverty and mental illness; rather, poverty and mental illness all contribute to drug use in society. We must come together to treat the underlying issues that contribute to these important behaviors and not waste taxpayer money on sending folks to jail for a crime that is about as harmful and addictive as caffeine.â€Â 

Jason Vautner, secretary of the board of directors for the national organization for the reform of marijuana laws, Memphis chapter, came before the council to share with them statistics of how marijuana is no more dangerous than other legal substances. 

“In 2014, 47,000 people died from opioid drug overdoses.†Vautner said to the council. “480,000 deaths from cigarette smoking, including 42,000 from secondhand exposure; 88,000 deaths from alcohol. Cannabis has been the direct cause of exactly zero deaths in recorded history.â€Â 

Vautner then quoted former president Jimmy Carter in saying, “Penalties against the possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself,†and the current penalties against cannabis do just that. 

Citizen Jimmy Vashaun compared the “war against marijuana†to the prohibition of alcohol in the early 1900’s, and the city would blossom after the passing of this ordinance. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, it doesn’t look like we learned anything from the fatal prohibition of alcohol,†Vashaun said. “We have a problem with population loss; Colorado has just the opposite, they’re gaining people. There’s a lot of people spending a lot of money just to keep a God-given herb illegal.â€Â 

Another citizen at the meeting, Melissa Duncan, shared with the council members her recent medical struggles from radiation she got some time in the early ‘70s. 

“Cancer had spread from my thyroid to other parts of my body,†Duncan said. “In the last year, I have undergone surgery, extreme radiation, stem cell treatment and, in the second week of November, I will be undergoing my second radiation treatment.â€Â 

She said she constantly lives with the idea that “dying is easy and living is hard,†and using cannabis to dull the pain would mean the world to her. 

“Access to cannabis and products made from it would, one, safe my life, two, make living easier, three, ensure my children have a mother for an extended period of time and number four, allow me to continue in my profession,†Duncan said. 

However, not every citizen at the meeting was trying to convince the council to pass the ordinance. Kirk Hudson, a Memphian for 78 years, was extremely displeased the council was even going over this type of ordinance. 

“I’m a little upset because the church should be here,†Hudson said. “They should be here standing on the word of God. This is a shame. Back in the ‘90s, we were taught, ‘Don’t use it.’ [Marijuana] should never be in this city.â€Â 

Councilman Boyd further defended his ordinance by comparing cannabis to alcohol, just as many citizens did. 

“I would much rather hang around a person who is high on marijuana than a drunk,†Boyd said, receiving applause from the audience. “Because a person high on marijuana is in a chill mode, but a person that is drunk on alcohol is belligerent, they want to talk all over you. I think [the ordinance] is trial-and-error.â€Â