Proposal Would End Jail for Some Marijuana Possession Cases
A proposal introduced in the Texas Legislature would eliminate jail time for possession of small amounts of marijuana.
State Rep. Harold V. Dutton (D-Houston) told 1200 WOAI news Texas law currently calls for six months in jail for possession of less than two ounces of marijuana, a class B misdemeanor. Dutton's measure would maintain that designation for possession of between one and two ounces of pot, but would cut that to a class C misdemeanor, the equivalent of a traffic ticket, for possession of one ounce or less.
"We've been tough on crime for the last decade or so, and now it's time to be a little bit smart on crime," Dutton told 1200 WOAI news.
State Rep. Harold V. Dutton (D-Houston) told 1200 WOAI news Texas law currently calls for six months in jail for possession of less than two ounces of marijuana, a class B misdemeanor. Dutton's measure would maintain that designation for possession of between one and two ounces of pot, but would cut that to a class C misdemeanor, the equivalent of a traffic ticket, for possession of one ounce or less.
"We've been tough on crime for the last decade or so, and now it's time to be a little bit smart on crime," Dutton told 1200 WOAI news.
posted by Loretta Nall at
4:43 AM
3 Comments:
The amount of B.S. on this web log continues to astound me. None of my pot smoking friends have ever even come CLOSE to serving jail time for possesion of small amounts of weed. And they smoke a LOT. This shit cracks me up!
By
Anonymous, at 5:37 AM
Your commenter is misinformed. At a minimum, in TX, currently those busted with pot are at least booked into the county jail and processed through the county court at law. That's >50,000 extra cases in the system annually. Giving a ticket and processing through municipal court would lead to huge savings. I credited your reference in my blog on this at Grits, by the way. Happy holidays.
By
Gritsforbreakfast, at 7:14 AM
Just thought I would clear something up. The law on the books allows for up to 6 months in jail and a 2000 dollar fine. I have been arrested for 1/4 ounce of pot in Texas. They take you to the county jail where you are booked, you may spend some time there if you don't make bail.
The only reason why most people don't go to jail in Texas over small amounts of pot is Texas gives judges discretion over these cases so they usually divert them to community service/probation.
This bill is needed in Texas since not all judges will divert and the law should reflect reality. Spread the word.
By
Anonymous, at 4:05 PM
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