MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — City leaders in Tennessee's two largest cities are
taking steps toward marijuana decriminalization with ordinances that would
allow police to reduce the penalty for people who possess small amounts of
the substance.

Nashville's Metropolitan Council is set to vote on its ordinance Tuesday,
while Memphis' City Council is scheduled to make its decision on Oct. 4.
Both cities have proposed similar measures: Police who find people in
possession of a half-ounce or less of marijuana have the discretion of
giving them a citation for a $50 civil fine or community service.

John Marek is executive director of the Memphis chapter of the National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. He says the proposals in
Nashville and Memphis echo those previously passed in more than two dozen