Louisville is one step closer to telling police not to prioritize adult marijuana possession cases, which supporters say would "effectively" decriminalize the drug.

An ordinance telling police to make investigations, citations and arrests for possession of a small amount of marijuana the city's "lowest" priority cleared Louisville Metro Council's public safety committee in a 3-1 vote Wednesday.

It will now go to the full Metro Council.

One author, Councilman Brandon Coan, D-8th District, has described it as a step toward making sure law enforcement priorities "reflect our community values."

It defines adults as 21 years or older and notes that "personal use" could be half an ounce or less of marijuana.

Importantly, the legislation would not add any penalty for officers who disregard the mandate. It also wouldn't change Kentucky criminal law — which led some who oppose the ordinance to argue the city can't do this.

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Here's what city lawmakers had to say in the roughly half-hour discussion:

'A values judgment for our community'

Backers of the legislation argue it's about police officers' discretion.

The council isn't changing state law, it says, it's making more clear what it wants from Louisville Metro Police officers.

"This is a values judgment for our community. It's how we want to treat people, it's how we want to use our police resources, it's what we think makes sense," Coan said at the Wednesday committee meeting.

Council members also referenced marijuana citations' disparate impact on black drivers, as reported by the Courier Journal.

While African Americans make up less than one-fourth of Louisville's population, they accounted for two-thirds of those charged with marijuana possession, according to a review of 21,607 cases in which possession of marijuana was the most serious charge.

And black drivers were cited for possession in 2017 at six times the rate of white people, even though national studies show both groups smoke it at virtually the same rate.

In Kentucky, marijuana possession remains a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 45 days in jail and a $250 fine, though most judges impose only a $50 fine.

And, while some opponents questioned whether it was Metro Council's role to create legislation on this subject, others pushed back and said it was up to them because of inaction from the state.

"It may be nice for the state legislature to do the job they should do, (but) obviously they're not doing that job. So, it falls on us to do the best we can do with what we have to do it with," said council President David James, D-6th District.

Catch up:You're more likely to be busted for weed in Louisville if you're black

'A cloud of the unknown'

The sole "no" vote in committee came from a Democrat, Mark Fox, a former police major with Louisville Metro Police.

Fox began by saying he supports legalization of medical marijuana and is open to discussion of recreational marijuana.

But this ordinance, he said, "puts a cloud of the unknown," both for police officers and for citizens. No matter how much people may want to see medical marijuana legalized, he added, it's not.

"You can't decriminalize something at the city level that is a state criminal violation," Fox said.

Coan quickly responded to explain that the legislation would effectively decriminalize marijuana, not change any actual laws.

Still, after the meeting Fox stressed that "we simply can't, at the city level, change state law." The ordinance would add a "but" to the oath officers swear to uphold the law, he argued.

"It just doesn't pass the smell test to me, that if something is against state law ... we're going to pass an ordinance to say don't make it a high (priority). They're not making it a high (priority) already," Fox said.

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What have police and the mayor said?

Neither have come out in full-throated support for the measure.

Jessie Halladay, a spokeswoman for LMPD, previously said in a statement that Chief Steve Conrad "must follow the laws as written in Kentucky and marijuana remains illegal in this commonwealth."

"Police are statutorily required to write citations for small amounts of marijuana possession already, unless there is some other circumstance related to public safety," Halladay wrote. "Our department continues to focus on violent crime as a top priority."

And Jean Porter, a spokeswoman for Mayor Greg Fischer, wrote in an earlier statement that "the goal of the (legislation) is already in effect."

"First, marijuana is still illegal in Kentucky, and the mayor has a constitutional duty to uphold the law," Porter wrote. "Second, LMPD already prioritizes violent crime, and state law has, since 2011, required police to issue citations instead of arresting individuals for possessing marijuana in low amounts."

To Coan, the goal of the ordinance isn't already in effect, because writing a citation still puts offenders through the criminal justice system.

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If the state statute that Fischer's office referenced was doing what it was supposed to be doing, Coan said, there wouldn't be 22,000 arrest citations and arrests since 2010.

(The Courier Journal analysis examined 21,607 cases between 2010 to 2017 in which possession of marijuana was the highest charge.)

Nicolai Jilek, the Louisville police union's president, has called the measure "symbolic" and said it would do nothing to decriminalize marijuana or change police officer's day-to-day work. Officers, he said, would still have the right to enforce the state and federal laws with probable cause, and already don't prioritize minor offenses.

"We already are understaffed and have so much going on with significant crime in Louisville that they're already focusing on the big picture every day," he said. "We don't have time to seek out marijuana use for the sake of stopping marijuana use."

Darcy Costello: 502-582-4834; dcostello@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @dctello. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/darcyc.