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Nashville Democrats aren't taking Republican state Rep. William Lamberth's legislation to override and repeal a Metro Nashville ordinance decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana lying down — they've introduced their own bill to (kind of) decriminalize (very small amounts of) pot statewide.

Under the legislation, it would still be a Class C misdemeanor to possess up to one-eighth of an ounce (3.544 grams) of marijuana, but offenders could only be punished by a fine up to $50. Possession of larger amounts would still be subject to up to a year in jail or a $2,500 fine, as would exchange of any amount of pot or sale to a minor of any amount. The legislation is sponsored by Sen. Jeff Yarbro and Rep. Harold Love.

"When Metro passed their ordinance, I was concerned about the inconsistency with other cities. Say you're driving just over the Williamson County line, and if you get stopped, then you'll be charged differently than in Nashville," Love says. "We want to make sure it is consistent across the board, no matter where you are in the state."

The legislation is not the same as Metro's ordinance, which allowed the possession or exchange of up to half an ounce of marijuana to be a civil, not criminal, citation, with a $50 fine or 10 hours of community service, per the officer's discretion.

However, numbers provided by the Metro Nashville Police Department today show most officers have not opted for the civil citations. Per MNPD, since the decriminalization ordinance went into effect on Sept. 20 of last year, only 27 civil citations have been issued, compared to 815 citations issued in which the only charge is simple possession, with half an ounce or less marijuana confiscated.

Love says he thinks keeping marijuana possession as a misdemeanor — which means the drug is still illegal, and not technically decriminalized — will make the bill an easier sell to Republicans, as will the small amount of pot that it applies to.

"Again, the goal is to eliminate possible jail time, and to eliminate massive fines for possession of a small amount of a drug. But it's still illegal," Love says.

When asked about legislation to decriminalize possession of small amounts of pot statewide on Tuesday, Lamberth said that before that happened, "We’ve got to get all our cities on the same page, that they are all following the same laws" — i.e., he wouldn't be pushing it this year. But Love says he hopes once "everyone cools off," he might be able to make progress with getting Lamberth on board — and hopefully, he says, Metro too.

Metro Councilperson Dave Rosenberg, the original sponsor of the decriminalization ordinance, says he's disappointed by Lamberth's bill, but he thinks that Love and Yarbro's legislation would be a net positive.

"Any step the state takes to reduce the burden of these sorts of laws is a positive thing, and this sounds promising," Rosenberg says.