Join the conversation: Do you use marijuana? Would you be willing to talk to Enquirer reporters on the record? If so, please reach out to Hamilton County Reporter Dan Horn at dhorn@enquirer.com or Intern Maia Anderson at manderson@enquirer.com

City Council voted Wednesday to decriminalize marijuana possession in Cincinnati, allowing individuals to have up to 100 grams without fear of fines or prosecution.

The measure, which passed 5-3, means Cincinnati will join a rapidly growing number of states and cities that have either legalized or removed criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana. The law is scheduled to take effect in 30 days.

"It is time," said Councilman Greg Landsman before voting for the law. "We have for too long put people away for something I believe should be legal."

He was joined by council members Christopher Smitherman and Jeff Pastor, who sponsored the measure, as well as Chris Seelbach and Wendell Young.

Voting no: Council members Amy Murray, Tamaya Dennard, and David Mann.

Another proposal by Mann, which would have decriminalized a much smaller amount of marijuana, was tabled until at least next week. Mann's measure still could go before council for a vote and, if approved, would override the law approved Wednesday.

Mayor John Cranley said he does not intend to veto a marijuana decriminalization measure, whichever one ultimately becomes law.

Next: Expunging conviction records

A council majority has been moving toward decriminalization for weeks now, so the big question Wednesday was how permissive the law would be.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters warned council in May that allowing 100 grams or less would be excessive for personal use and would make it harder for police and prosecutors to prove drug trafficking charges.

Mann agreed with that assessment, noting that 100 grams is enough marijuana to make more than 300 joints. He also objected to the new law's failure to mention possession by minors, saying it essentially condones drug use among kids.

"Why on earth would we do that?" Mann said.

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P.G. Sittenfeld, who missed the vote because of the birth of his son, has expressed similar concerns about the lack of a ban on sales to minors.

Dennard said she favored decriminalization but could not support the law because it did not include a provision that would make it easier for people who already have been convicted of marijuana possession to expunge, or clear, their criminal records.

"I can't decriminalize this without doing something about the lives that have already been destroyed," she said.

Smitherman vowed to address expungement in future legislation, but he said council needed to act immediately to prevent others from incurring fines and the stigma of a criminal record, which can impact the ability to get a job or go to college.

'We're creating a permanent underclass'

He said African-American men, in particular, have suffered the most from enforcement of minor marijuana infractions.

"This is clearly a bias," Smitherman said. "We're creating this permanent underclass."

Before they voted, Smitherman told council members he intended to gather petitions to put his proposal on the ballot if council rejected it.

For that to happen now, however, Mann's proposal would need to win over five council members, including at least a few who voted for Smitherman's plan Wednesday. Mann's plan would decriminalize up to 32 grams of marijuana and would explicitly ban sales to minors.

Young, a former police officer, said he's witnessed the evolution of views on pot up close, first as a police officer in the 1960s and now as a councilman.

"My personal objection is I can't stand the smell of it," Young said. "These people, for the most part, aren't hurting anybody."

Joining Toledo and Norwood

More than 50 communities in a dozen states have ended prosecution or enacted municipal laws decriminalizing minor marijuana violations. Dayton, Toledo and Norwood are among those to have done so in Ohio.

Most of the amounts decriminalized around the country are in the range Cincinnati just approved, somewhere between 10 and 100 grams. Under Ohio law, possession of 100 grams or less is a minor misdemeanor punishable by a $150 fine.

The law council approved would give police the option of citing people under state law or the new city law. If they choose the city law, as police officials have said they would, offenders would get a ticket that carries no fine and creates no criminal record.

Smitherman, an independent who is running for mayor in 2021, has said it's unfair for citizens to be charged and potentially locked up for minor violations when big companies now are benefiting from producing marijuana legally for medical purposes or, in some states, for recreational use.

'You're not doing any harm'

The vote Wednesday was greeted with applause from about a dozen people who turned out to support the measure. Though some speakers before the vote warned that marijuana could lead to the abuse of other drugs, others in the community reacted with enthusiasm.

A retired Cincinnati firefighter living in Mt. Auburn, Peter Deane, 53, said there should be no limit placed on the amount of marijuana a person can possess.

“If you want to have 100 cases of whiskey in your house, who’s gonna say anything?” Deane asked. “Why would they make an issue with something that’s less harmful to you? It's definitely hurting the people of Cincinnati. It’s black, it’s white, it’s rich, it’s poor. It’s a human issue.”

Blake Croley, 18, a University of Kentucky student from Woodlawn, doesn’t understand why law enforcement has focused on marijuana for so long.

“I just feel like, for so long, so many people have been looked at wrongfully because of a plant that comes from the earth,” Croley said. “You get put in prison for something where you’re not doing any harm.”

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Join the conversation: Do you use marijuana? Would you be willing to talk to Enquirer reporters on the record? If so, please reach out to Hamilton County Reporter Dan Horn at dhorn@enquirer.com or Intern Maia Anderson at manderson@enquirer.com