Laws passed this year by Nashville and Memphis that gave police discretion to hand out lighter civil citations for possession of small amounts of marijuana violate state statute and therefore can't stand, according to Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery.
Slatery issued that opinion on Wednesday, arguing that Tennessee’s two largest cities are pre-empted by multiple state laws on the issue — one that addresses drug control and another on the powers of district attorneys — making the ordinances unenforceable.
“A municipal ordinance that attempts to regulate a field that is regulated by state statute cannot stand if it is contradictory to state law,” he wrote.
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Slatery issued that opinion on Wednesday, arguing that Tennessee’s two largest cities are pre-empted by multiple state laws on the issue — one that addresses drug control and another on the powers of district attorneys — making the ordinances unenforceable.
“A municipal ordinance that attempts to regulate a field that is regulated by state statute cannot stand if it is contradictory to state law,” he wrote.
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