Portsmouth, Ohio City Council voted down an ordinance to decriminalize pot during Monday’s City Council meeting. The ordinance would have decriminalized possession of fewer than 200 grams (7 ounces) of pot. Portsmouth City Solicitor John Hass made it clear that the ordinance would not legalize marijuana. State and federal laws against marijuana take precedence over local ordinances.
City Council Vice President Sean Dunne made an emotional plea before the vote tying marijuana laws to racism. “This is one of several discussions I want to have about Criminal Justice reform. There’s a reason why other cities have done this. It started with issues of racial justice.” Dunne was frustrated that those commenting publicly on the issue did not address racial issues. “In the comments, I only heard mention of racial justice or racism. In this room, the city council has made several comments that we would take seriously issues around racial justice.”
Dunne also said he thought the War on Drugs pitted law enforcement against citizens. “It’s unfair to the police.” He also called out what he called, “The absolute ignorance or avoidance of issues of racial injustice. It shouldn’t be racial minorities that have to be talking about racial injustice. Those who identify as white must talk about them. What are we doing to address a toxic threat to democracy?” Dunne said he’d asked people with questions to read the book The New Jim Crow. He said no one in opposition to the ordinance had asked him for a copy of the book.
“Lazy and Ignorant”
The First Ward Councilman said he’d presented research to the city council on the benefits of marijuana and about racial disparity in drug arrests. Dunne said no one disputed his date. He also said that no one opposing the legislation had bothered to contact any of the 18 other cities in Ohio that decriminalized pot. Dunne accused his opposition of being unwilling to perform due diligence and used the words “lazy” and “ignorant” half a dozen times.
The council vice president said he didn’t believe statements that members of the council had received phone calls opposing the ordinance. Dunne said he would offer his October salary if anyone could name 50 people who had called in opposition. “I do not believe them. When you cite things like, ‘I got a bunch of phone calls,’ there is no way to verify it.” Dunne said he’d experienced a similar situation when campaigning for a skate park in the city.
The councilman said he understood why some people are “terrified of certain people on council voting on things such as these.” According to Dunne, “They haven’t read it. They didn’t do any research. It’s disappointing. I don’t have any illusion that I’ll change anyone’s vote. I want to document the process that’s been going on.”
No Hard Feelings
An equally emotional Mayor Kevin E. Johnson said, “I was born here in our city, went to school in this city. I made my home career here. I’ll probably be buried here. I’ve heard it said that our law enforcement has unfairly charged some due to economic disparity and race.” Johnson said that he grew up in government housing and that he was familiar with several police officers. “These people were my heroes. I can’t believe that anyone was unfairly charged.”
Johnson said that while he and Councilman Dunne had different feelings on the matter, he was confident there would be no lasting animosity. “As always, once a decision’s made we’ll walk away from it and work on what we do next.”
Four votes are required to pass an ordinance. Johnson and Councilman Andrew McManus voted ‘no.’ Councilwoman Gordon, Councilman Dunne, and Councilman Martell voted in favor.