The Albuquerque City Council passed a bill to decriminalize marijuana late Monday evening, leaving the decision up to Mayor Richard Berry.
The council voted by a 5-4 split on Ordinance 15-60, which makes one ounce or less of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia a civil infraction with a $25 fine and removes any potential for jail time.
“It serves the public interest, it’s reasonable, elected and appointed government officials have a duty to serve the public interest and uphold the public’s trust,” Art Tannenbaum, an Albuquerque resident, said as he addressed the council on Monday. “You legislators, the people who work for the mayor and the administration, need to take responsibility.”
Councilor Rey Garduño, who tried to pass a similar bill last fall, praised the city councilors who voted for the measure.
“I think there were five amazingly thoughtful votes, my colleagues who voted for it, I think gave it a lot of thought,” he said. “(They) made sure the ordinance spoke to what we want to accomplish, which is, to decriminalize marijuana.”
Councilor Trudy Jones, one opponent who voted against the bill, noted that marijuana possession will still be illegal under state and federal laws. Those rules, she said, should be enforced.
“There’s a cause and effect from what happens in this world and I think that we learn that there is right and wrong and we should follow the rules sometimes. This will still remain a criminal act in the state of New Mexico and the United States of America.”
There was also debate from opponents on whether police would arrest people for breaking a state law and ignoring the new city ordinance. Garduño said he thinks it's just an excuse and that in reality, APD officers would use their own judgment in individual instances.
Garduño said the legislation is making sure police officers are in charge of carrying out penalties and have discretion to determine if a person is extraordinarily dangerous or needs to be jailed.
“People who imbibe in a small amount of marijuana, recreationally, are less prone to cause any kind of criminal activity,” he said.
It is now up to Mayor Berry, If it is vetoed and the veto is not overruled, Garduño said the discussion point will then go to the next level of making sure that recreational marijuana becomes legal in the state.
“It is just Neanderthal thinking, when people just throw up their arms and say, ‘well, we have a law that says x and we’re going to stick with that,’ laws are changed all the time,” he said. “When laws are found not to be effective. They are modified or changed, full clause.”
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Matthew Reisen is a senior reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @DailyLobo.
