An ordinance which was supposed to decriminalize possession of 20 grams or less of pot in Daytona Beach will have to be re-written before city commissioners approve it.
- Daytona Beach looking to officially decriminalize small amounts of pot
- Police doing it on their own now
- Commission will revisit ordinance May 18
The ordinance brought before Daytona Beach commissioners would make law what police officers now have the discretion to do, give a citation to people who have 20 grams or less of marijuana, rather than arrest them on a first-degree misdemeanor.
"But we've been pretty progressive here and we've said, ‘hey we can do this, we can legally do this as an ordinance violation,’” said Daytona Beach Police Chief Mike Chitwood. “So the city is just now catching up to what we're doing. It just makes it official."
By passing the ordinance, Daytona Beach would have fallen in step with Volusia County, which passed a similar ordinance in March.
But some city leaders thought the wording of the ordinance was too broad. They moved to change the wording of the ordinance and re-visit the issue during the next commission meeting May 18.
Until then, Chief Chitwood says officers will continue to issue citations for people with 20 grams or less of marijuana, especially for first-time offenders.
"If you're 22 years old and you come in contact with us in Spring Break, you're going to get an ordinance violation," said Chitwood.
However, Chitwood says frequent offenders will face criminal charges.
Orlando is looking to pass a similar ordinance. A reading of the measure takes place May 9.