Times Herald

The Port Huron City Council Monday did what was expected of it. In a 6-0 vote, council members agreed to change a municipal ordinance to decriminalize the use and possession of minor amounts of marijuana. Councilwoman Rachel Cole was absent.

Call it the right thing to do. After all, city voters approved the decriminalization reform 3,383 to 3,192 in the Nov. 4 election.

Voters in a number of Michigan cities have approved similar measures. Pro-marijuana advocates have organized a campaign to relax municipal penalties for the drug's recreational use.

The strategy appears to build local support for decriminalizing marijuana use with the eventual goal of persuading state lawmakers to legalize the drug or at least make its possession and use civil rather than criminal offenses.

"This vote sends the message to the state that this is what people want," Mayor Pro-tem Sherry Archibald said. "The more cities that do this, the more pressure it puts on the state to address this issue. I encourage you to keep pursuing this and to take it to the state level."

The problem with the Port Huron example is state and federal drug laws trump municipal statutes — Port Huron officials won't abide by marijuana's decriminalization.

Michael Reaves, Port Huron's public safety director, said he must enforce state and federal marijuana laws. Neither provides for casual use of the drug, no matter how minor.

"When an officer asks me how we should enforce the law, we all have to be on the same page, it can't be we enforce state law for this person and the city ordinance for this person, we have to enforce this issue the same way for everyone," Reaves said. "I have no personal objective. I am just upholding state law."

There is an argument to be made for marijuana's legalization. Colorado took that step and the state appears to be flourishing.

If Michigan goes that way, however, it will happen in Lansing, not Port Huron. The council took the first step in changing the city ordinance. Final approval could come at the council's Dec. 8 meeting.

Whatever happens, acting as if the city ordinance didn't change is the wise thing to do.