Marijuana referendum lacks signatures with clock ticking

Nashvillians seeking the city's first public referendum on marijuana have their work cut out for them to get their measure on the Metro general election ballot.

With less than two weeks before the deadline to submit petitions, the Tennessee chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana has collected 4,000 of the necessary 6,847 signatures to add a Metro charter amendment that would effectively decriminalize marijuana to the Aug. 6 ballot.

That tally is according to Doak Patton, president of TN-NORML, who said his organization still has several events to go over the final 13 days.

The group's charter amendment proposal would prevent Metro from appropriating any financial resources in support of the criminal prosecution of an adult for possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana.

Even if TN-NORML collects the required number of signatures — and those signatures are certified — legal questions are likely to persist that could keep the amendment from being certified by the election commission. State law says that marijuana possession of any amount is a crime. Backers have countered those legal questions by arguing that the charter amendment only deals with the expenditure of Metro dollars — and thus does not trump state law.

"The stark racial disparities that have resulted from marijuana prosecutions are undeniable," said Daniel Horwitz, an attorney representing the petitioners. "At some point, society is also going to have to get over its obsession with putting people in prison just because we don't like the things they put in their mouths."

TN-NORML had initially sought to use electronic signatures to boost their cause, but Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman ruled in February that the Davidson County Election Commission is not obligated to accept signatures collected online.

Other organizations are also looking to add charter amendments to the August election via petitions. Democracy Nashville has been collecting signatures for a "ban the box" proposal that would prevent Metro from asking city job applicants about criminal history on initial job applications. An organization called CouncilNext50, led by Metro Councilwoman Emily Evans, is seeking a referendum on reducing the size of the council and increasing term limits to three.

Voters would have to approve the various measures in August for them to become Metro law.

Reach Joey Garrison at 615-259-8236 and on Twitter @joeygarrison.