Lawmakers failed to pass legislation this legislative session that would have placed a referendum before voters this November to provide local law enforcement the option of citing rather than arresting adults who are caught in possession of one ounce or less of marijuana.
House Bill 2310 was approved by members of the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee on March 22nd and the full House Criminal Justice Committee on March 30th. However, it did not make it past the House Calendar and Rules committee.
Senate Bill 2321 was defeated in the Senate Judiciary committee on May 12th.
Under present law, the possession of up to one half ounce of marijuana is classified as a criminal misdemeanor — punishable by up to one-year in jail and a fine between $ 250 and $ 500.
An analysis of 2012 marijuana possession arrests reports that police annually arrest over 19,000 Tennesseans for minor marijuana possession offenses. This is the 15th highest statewide tally in the nation.
Minor marijuana possession offenders, many of them young people, should not be saddled with a criminal record and the lifelong penalties and stigma associated with it.
NORML would like to thank those of you who contacted your state lawmakers in support of this common sense legislation.
Additional information on these and other pending efforts is available from Tennessee NORML
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws – Advocacy Campaigns
