David Odom said he has never smoked marijuana and has no plans to start. But he’s helping spearhead a movement in Madison County to light up if he so desired.

The Tennessee Valley Progressive Alliance, led by Odom, and 20 other organizations sent a letter earlier this month to Huntsville and Madison County leaders that urged law enforcement to no longer enforce marijuana possession laws.

The letter received no response other than a reply from the office of Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle confirming their received it, Odom said.

"I can't really say I was expecting dead silence but I'm not too surprised," Odom said.

Among the groups signing on to the letter: The Madison County Democratic Executive Committee, League of Women Voters of the Tennessee Valley, NAACP of Huntsville and Madison County and the UAH College Democrats.

The letter begins by describing an "urgent request to improve the public safety, social equity, and overall well-being of our community: We ask that you stop arresting people for cannabis possession and, likewise, drop all criminal charges related to cannabis possession. These actions will help ease racial disparities in community policing, allow greater enforcement emphasis on crimes that have victims, especially violent crime, and improve the vital relationship between the community and law enforcement officers."

AL.com contacted the same elected leaders as the groups – Sheriff Kevin Turner, District Attorney Rob Broussard, Madison Mayor Paul Finley and Battle – and only Broussard responded.

“I dismissed the whole proposition quickly in my mind when I saw that (letter),” Broussard said. “Those are laws on the books and I’m sworn to uphold the law. No matter how I felt about it, there is no way I would chart a different course in how we handle things.”

Except for violent crimes, law enforcement has the authority to not pursue charges or not prosecute cases. As an example, you may be pulled over by police for speeding but may not necessarily receive a ticket charging you with a crime.

Odom said the group is looking for such latitude when it comes to marijuana possession.

"A lot of people don't know this, local leaders have the authority to act on this," he said. "They don’t have to wait for Montgomery, they don’t have to wait for Washington."

Even if local leaders chose to look the other way on marijuana possession, it still remains a crime on the federal level.

Jefferson County authorities last year considered, then withdrew, a plan to end arrests for some non-violent misdemeanors. That included simple marijuana possession.

Polling indicates strong support for legalizing marijuana. A Gallup poll conducted last year found that 66 percent of those sampled backed legalization. Another poll last year by the Pew Research Center reflected that 67 percent in favor of legalization.

An unscientific poll conducted by AL.com earlier this month found 83 percent of those participating wanted marijuana to be legal.

Broussard said marijuana prosecution has evolved over the years -- from those convicted serving time in prison to today offenders rarely serving any jail time. Given that evolution, a time could come in the future where marijuana crimes do not lead to arrest or prosecution.

“Over the years, the system has acknowledged the severity of various charges, including marijuana-related charges,” Broussard said. “It’s still criminal but if somebody thinks somebody is going to be incarcerated for a little bit of marijuana, they’re not keeping up with what’s really going on.”

The groups also said in the letter that marijuana arrests were tilted toward minorities. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, blacks are 3.73 times more likely to be arrested on a marijuana possession charge than whites.

And with Huntsville part of a “moonshot effort” to attract 25,000 new workers to the Tennessee Valley over the next three years, the groups argue that marijuana legalization could help serve as a magnet.

The groups also cited an initiative by Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin that would pardon people convicted of a misdemeanor marijuana charge in the city’s municipal court.

Amid the silence from Huntsville-area leaders, though, Odom said the groups are pushing onward.

"What we want to do now is open up this discussion to the broader community, get more voices involved," he said. "If these elected leaders see how strong the support is, I think they will take a closer look at what we're asking."

He encouraged anyone supporting their plan to contact their elected officials and make that known.

“This is not a liberal thing, not a big city thing,” Odom said. “This is just broad, diverse support.”