DENTON, Texas — Denton city leaders say they’ll put the enforcement cannabis ordinance in the hands of voters in the November election.
If passed by voters, this ordinance will protect community members from being arrested and charged if they possess anything less than 4 ounces of cannabis.
On Tuesday evening, a small group of community members attended the Denton City Council meeting to speak in support of the ordinance. Stanton Brasher was one of the last people to speak before City Council during the public hearing portion of the meeting.
“That’s what the people in this city want, that’s what the people in this state want, that’s what the people in this country want. It’s bipartisan, and it saves money and it protects our most vulnerable people,” Brasher told city leaders.
Brasher is a member of Decriminalize Denton, a group that has been advocating for an ordinance that would put a stop to enforcing low-level cannabis crimes in the city. It’s also very personal for Brasher. He’s a convicted felon for selling cannabis in the Denton community.
While he knows this ordinance won’t fix his record, Brasher hopes it’ll protect others from suffering like he has over the years.
“These people are otherwise perfect citizens in most cases, so why waste the time and the money to send them to jail and traumatize them?” Brasher said.
Decriminalize Denton held a rally before the Tuesday night City Council meeting. They also want to see the Denton Police Department do away with a smell test.
“Eliminate all citations and arrests for possession of misdemeanor amounts of cannabis and prevent the city from paying for THC testing of substances thought to contain cannabis,” Brasher said.
Austin is another city in the Lone Star State that’s recently passed an ordinance that does away with low-level cannabis crimes.
Denton City Council unanimously approved seeing the enforcement cannabis ordinance on the November ballot.
After the public hearing finished, Mayor Gerard Hudspeth spoke about his thoughts on the proposed ordinance, stating he worries its language is too vague. Hudspeth added that he believes it could prevent Denton PD from fully doing its job.
“I support it going to the ballot, and I think it won’t be successful, but, uh, that’ll be determined in November,” Hudspeth concluded.
Denton City Secretary Rosa Rios says on July 26, the city will officially order the ordinance election for November.
For Brasher, it’s a waiting game to see if their fight for this policy will become a reality.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to indicate that the ordinance, if passed, stipulates that Denton resident's won't face arrest or charges for possessing less than 4 ounces of marijuana. (July 21, 2022.)