It's about listening to your constituents.” – Nick Stevens, Decriminalize Denton tweet this “That's what being a representative is all about. “I myself do not smoke marijuana, but I fought very hard for this Proposition B to pass.” “‘The times, they are a’changing.’ I am a mother. Many seniors can’t afford to spend thousands of dollars on medications each month, she said, and marijuana is a viable alternative. Eva Grecco described how she went out day after day to gather enough signatures to place Prop B on the ballot. “This is business as usual.”Īnother local marijuana advocate spoke at the February meeting. “This is what they call ‘low priority’?” Armintor, a former Denton City Council member, told the Observer. ![]() To Deb Armintor of Decriminalize Denton, though, hearing the number of arrests and citations was “infuriating.” Denton’s police chief further vowed that the department would continue to make minor marijuana offenses a low priority. Hensley argued that the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, which mandates that police enforce state law, essentially supersedes the proposition. (Prop B advocates have asked to see the demographic makeup of this, as did the Observer, but the police department didn’t respond to the request.) 17, local officers made 52 citations and/or arrests related to pot or paraphernalia. She noted in her presentation that from Nov. 21 work session that Denton doesn’t have the authority to implement the parts of Prop B that run afoul of state law. It would also bar law enforcement from using the “smell test,” meaning the scent of weed couldn’t serve as an excuse for search or seizure.Ĭity Manager Sara Hensley explained during the Feb. Prop B would mean, in part, that police could no longer issue citations or execute arrests for misdemeanor quantities of marijuana, except under certain limited circumstances. But others have argued that the merits of the ordinance aside, the city of Denton’s hands are tied. ![]() ![]() Voters in San Marcos, Elgin, Harker Heights and Killeen similarly approved decriminalization during the midterm elections. Advocates point to other Texas cities such as Austin that have implemented near-identical measures. “It's about listening to your constituents.”ĭecriminalize Denton blasted the ordeal over Prop B as an “attack on democracy” in a press release. “That's what being a representative is all about,” Stevens said. 21 meeting, Stevens emphasized that even if they didn’t personally like the ordinance, they should still respect the will of Denton voters. Alicia Claytor Facing council members during the Feb.
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