When it came up for a vote Wednesday, one Cincinnati City Council member after another said they supported decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana.

Declarations of support came from Jeff Pastor, Christopher Smitherman, P.G. Sittenfeld, Chris Seelbach, Tamaya Dennard and Wendell Young. (Greg Landsman too told The Enquirer he likes the idea, though he wasn't at the meeting.)

Even Mayor John Cranley said he supported the idea, though he doesn't have a vote.

And most of them, Cranley too, said they'd legalize marijuana if they could.

And yet the idea failed to actually come to a vote.

It was introduced as an "emergency ordinance," meaning it needed seven votes to suspend the normally required three regular readings of the law. There were only six votes. Amy Murray and David Mann said they have more questions about the law and would not vote to suspend the rules.

If it had gone forward, they wouldn't have voted, but the law would have needed just five voted to pass. And those votes were there.

So it will come back next week for a second reading.

Smitherman, who sponsored the law with Pastor, is hoping he can find enough members willing to hold two special meetings, which would speed the process up.

Under the new law, possessing up to roughly a quarter pound of marijuana would not be a criminal offense under the city's charter, despite the fact that it violates Ohio law.

The new ordinance gives officers a choice between the two.

Police Chief Eliot Isaac said on Monday officers would follow the city law, but that he had concerns.