Denton City Council approves overwhelmingly supported marijuana ordinance

Denton Record-Chronicle
By Christian McPhate Staff Writer cmcphate@dentonrc.com
November 22, 2022

An old Denton hippie stood in front of Denton City Council members Tuesday morning, wearing a gray shirt with marijuana leaves on it and a nice head of dark hair for someone who just turned 70.

He attributed his hair to the marijuana he has been smoking for years and joined his voice with many other public commenters encouraging the council to listen to the overwhelming majority of voters who voted to approve the low-level marijuana decriminalization ordinance.

Denton City Council listened to residents who arrived to voice their concerns Tuesday morning and voted 6-0 to accept the election results for the low-level marijuana decriminalization ordinance and a former council member’s recall election.

After Election Day, there was some worry when Denton City Manager Sarah Hensley issued a news release shortly after the ordinance was passed Nov. 8 to remind voters there were certain parts of the ordinance that may not be implemented because they conflicted with state and federal laws.

Hensley had taken a similar stance after a council majority passed the abortion rights resolution earlier this year and claimed that several parts of the resolution couldn't be implemented because it dictated how police officers were to do their jobs and violated state law.

But none of the supporters at Tuesday's council meeting cared what Hensley or Mayor Gerard Hudspeth, who has also appeared reluctant to uphold the majority's will, had to say. The supporters indicated they wanted Hensley and council to implement what was voted on to the best of their ability.

The Austin city manager’s office, where Hensley was previously employed, has been able to implement a similar ordinance since May with no legal challenges from the state, as a couple of commenters pointed out Tuesday morning.

“Our rights are at stake here,” Richard Hayner, the hippie with nice hair, told council members. “By golly, I’m starting to feel dyslexic because my right's left. You need to find out how to do that, and if it’s a problem with the law, then work on it.

“That’s what you are here to do, to take care of the voters.”

The low-level marijuana decriminalization ordinance, also known as Proposition B, was passed by an overwhelming majority of Denton voters with more than 32,000 votes in favor, the largest vote-getter ever for a citywide election in Denton.

Several residents spoke during the public comment period in support of the council accepting the election results for Proposition B, each stressing the importance of listening to the will of the majority.

At Tuesday morning's meeting, Hensley reiterated her stance, stating the difficulties she faces when determining how the police should do their jobs.

Residents at the meeting also reiterated that the Texas Constitution and home rule charter allow the council and voters to set policy.

“City staff doesn’t have the right to ignore election results,” said local Denton resident Eva Greco. “Sarah Hensley is refusing to enforce the law. Your job description doesn’t give you that authority, and as such you are overstepping.”

Hensley stressed a similar claim Hudspeth has been making from the dais: that she has taken an oath to uphold state law. But commenters disagreed.

“Prop B is a public ordinance and needs to be respected,” said longtime civil servant Jennifer Lane. “To allow the sort of response to it that has taken place is not the best practice. You need to make a good-faith effort to work between state, county and city law and observe what the public wants.”

Former Denton council member Deb Armintor reminded council members and the city manager that the ordinance was written by Austin attorneys, and that the state law was the entire framework for the ordinance.

Armintor also mentioned that recent state law changed how marijuana and hemp are categorized since both are indistinguishable from each other and the only way to know which is which is to have a state crime lab test the THC content. This finding was pulled from chapters 481 and 483 of state codes, which Hensley referenced as a reason for her not being able to enforce the ordinance.

“You’re entitled to your opinion but not entitled to your opinion to replace the will of the voters or the decision of the court of law,” Armintor said.