DeKalb County mayor wants to ban e-cigs and decriminalize marijuana

Chris Carter

Ted Terry the mayor of the city of Clarkston in DeKalb county wants to make some changes to city ordinances, like making e-cigarette smoking illegal indoors.

According to AJC, the expansion of the ordinance would reach to all forms of smoking including hookah and traditional cigarettes. The mayor has taken a very adversarial stance when it comes to tobacco.

The mayor also wants to decriminalize marijuana. Mayor Terry and Clarkson city public safety committee discussed the consequences of marijuana possession.

Terry feels that arrests for possession of marijuana are a waste of police resources. He would like to see it no longer be a crime to possess under an ounce of marijuana. Terry added that the “war on drugs” has been a failure and that police resources are better used elsewhere.

New research showing the harmful effects that smoking e-cigarettes can have has influenced the mayors call for action. Terry cited a study by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences about the chemicals in e-cigs and the “popcorn lung” condition which the Center for Disease Control categorizes as flavoring-related disease.