Marijuana Possession in Austin

There is no amount of marijuana, even marijuana that is used for medical purposes, that is considered legal to have in the state of Texas. Marijuana arrests account for 6 to 7 percent of all arrests made in Texas. That is a lot, and at $2,000 per arrest taxpayers have been shelling out precious money to keep crime off the streets.

If you are caught in possession of even the smallest usable quantity you will usually be arrested and charged with a Class B misdemeanor. However, it is unlikely that you will receive jail time with this sentence, but it will go down on your permanent record. With no jail time, you will probably receive a reduced fine and an order for community service. If convicted, there is a mandatory 180 day driver’s license suspension, you may be ineligible for Federal student financial aid, and if you aren’t a citizen you can be deported.

If it is your first time to be arrested for possession of marijuana (sometimes abbreviated as POM), typically most courts will allow you to request a dismissal of your case through a pretrial diversion. If you are accepted in the program, you will be required to do community service, and you must promise to stay out of trouble for a year. If completed successfully, you can erase the arrest from your criminal history.

On September 1, 2007, a new bill was passed that eliminates the arrest factor in marijuana cases dealing with small amounts of the substance in order to save taxpayers money and alleviate overcrowding in jails. It allows a police officer to issue the possessor a citation instead of arresting them and taking them to jail. This is only allowed in cases where the amount of marijuana possessed is less than four ounces.

“This law is good for Texas, because each marijuana arrest costs Texas taxpayers $2,000, takes a police officer off the street for three to four hours, and fills a space in jail that should instead be used to house a violent criminal,” said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C.

The Marijuana Policy Project defends their position on the bill by pointing out that if Texas was a country it would have the highest incarceration rate in the world, and that one percent of the Texas population is behind bars. By issuing citations instead of arresting users, it is estimated that Texas’s five largest cities can save roughly $1 million/year.