I do see that Nashville had decriminalized it in 2016, but it’s kinda weird since the article I posted definitely acts like it was still criminalized in 2020. I can’t find where the chief of police says anything about it being decriminalized, in the article he just says
“I agree that General Funk, as District Attorney, has the authority to determine what cases to prosecute,” Chief Anderson said. “Marijuana possession remains a violation of Tennessee law, and we cannot be in a position of telling our officers to begin ignoring lawful statutes passed by the legislature. Nashville police officers continue to be encouraged to use their discretion in carrying out their duties, as guided by MNPD policy.”
It sounds to me like the Nashville city government (mayor and prosecutor and part of the city council) sort of decriminalized it on their own unofficially, even with it being still illegal by state law. Which is… kind of fine. It’s messy but whatever if it keeps people out of jail I’m fine with it. I mean that’s what the states did already that got us to this point.
My whole point was just that having the DA lead the process isn’t the normal way to do it, and that’s not how it happened even in Nashville, and attacking Kamala Harris for this wide variety of half-truthful bullshit including that it’s all her fault that California still had some level of criminalization when she was DA and that makes her automatically a bad person, is IMO a variety of half truthful bullshit.
I do see that Nashville had decriminalized it in 2016, but it’s kinda weird since the article I posted definitely acts like it was still criminalized in 2020. I can’t find where the chief of police says anything about it being decriminalized, in the article he just says
Maybe a bad article or it had be recriminalized?
“Decriminalization” doesn’t mean “its legal”, it means “Its illegal but the state is not obligated to prosecute.”
Typically it means there is no criminal offense to prosecute. It turns it into the equivalant of a speeding ticket.
It sounds to me like the Nashville city government (mayor and prosecutor and part of the city council) sort of decriminalized it on their own unofficially, even with it being still illegal by state law. Which is… kind of fine. It’s messy but whatever if it keeps people out of jail I’m fine with it. I mean that’s what the states did already that got us to this point.
My whole point was just that having the DA lead the process isn’t the normal way to do it, and that’s not how it happened even in Nashville, and attacking Kamala Harris for this wide variety of half-truthful bullshit including that it’s all her fault that California still had some level of criminalization when she was DA and that makes her automatically a bad person, is IMO a variety of half truthful bullshit.