Ahead of Tuesday’s City Council meeting, the group Decriminalize Denton was cautiously optimistic that the council would vote to fully implement Proposition B, an ordinance that voters passed in November decriminalizing low-level marijuana offenses. Those hopes would soon evaporate.
Denton City Council decided against adopting the measure.
Nick Stevens with Decriminalize Denton told the Observer on Wednesday morning that he was “ashamed and disappointed” in council member Vicki Byrd, a former police officer who cast the pivotal vote.
“She has consistently said that democracy is what's most important, and in the last minute, she turned her back on us — on Denton,” he said.
More than 71% of Denton voters approved Prop B in November, yet some officials declined to implement the measure, arguing that it runs counter to state law. It’s a claim rejected by Prop B advocates who’ve pointed to cities like Austin that enjoy near-identical ordinances.
The dispute even led to an anti-Prop B incumbent City Council member getting recalled and defeated by a challenger in May.
Decriminalize Denton’s Deb Armintor, who’s also a former Denton City Council member, issued a scathing condemnation of Tuesday’s council decision.
“Last night’s vote was infuriating and devastating beyond words — another mockery of our democracy, another win for copaganda and the War on Drugs,” Armintor said via text on Wednesday.
Decriminalize Denton held a rally outside City Hall ahead of the vote. During the meeting, impassioned speakers urged council to implement the popular ordinance while others railed against it.“Cops should be more concerned with sniffing out violent criminals in their own ranks instead of sniffing out peaceful civilians who smell like pot.” – Deb Armintor, Decriminalize Denton
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Eric Beckwith with the Denton Police Department argued that the enforcement of Prop B — which, in part, prohibits using the smell of weed as cause for search or seizure — would make it harder for officers to do their jobs.
“To take a tool away from officers, such as the odor of marijuana, we’re not going to get guns off the streets that don’t belong in the hands of criminals,” he said. “We’re not going to put gang members in jail that are out there committing violent crimes.”
Armintor told the Observer earlier this week that since Prop B’s passage, police have continued to disproportionately target people of color over weed. Most marijuana-related incidents in Denton over a roughly three-month period involved Black and brown people, despite the fact that nearly 71% of residents there identify as white.
🔥We WILL NOT STOP fighting for our democracy & for FULL PROP B IMPLEMENTATION!
— Decriminalize Denton (@DecrimDenton) June 7, 2023
Thnx to everyone who spoke out for full implementation. Your words were powerful!
Thnx to councilmembers Beck, McGee, & Meltzer for doing the right thing@BeckforDenton@McGeeForDenton@PaulForYall
Looking ahead, Decriminalize Denton has vowed to continue fighting. Stevens notes that Prop B is technically still on the books, so local marijuana reform advocates will regroup to decide on next steps.
“Ultimately, we'll have an election in a few months, where apparently now we have to convince people that voting matters,” Stevens said. “I think that's a hard feat to do, where two elections in a row, Proposition B was what brought people to victory, including Vicki Byrd.
“So, I don't know,” he continued. “Maybe that means Deb or I will run for mayor.”
