THOSE WITH POT MAY AVOID JAIL

AUSTIN -- If a police officer in Texas catches you with a few ounces of marijuana you're going to jail, right? Maybe not.

Beginning Sept. 1, police officers will have the discretion to issue citations similar to traffic tickets rather than hauling the offender to jail. House Bill 2391, which passed with virtually no opposition during the 2007 legislative session and was signed into law without fanfare by Gov. Rick Perry, does not change the penalty for pot possession.

But supporters say the discretion may only be used when the person is in possession of four ounces of marijuana or less and lives in the county where the stop was made, and only when the suspect is not considered a threat to public safety. Plus, they say, it will save a lot of time and paperwork for beat cops and it will help prevent local jails from being clogged with otherwise low-risk lawbreakers.

"From my perspective, it gives police officers another tool in their belt when dealing with nonviolent offenders," said Deputy Chief Dennis McKnight of the Bexar County Sheriff's Department. "Rather than spending three hours taking a guy downtown, booking him into jail, taking him before a magistrate and taking his paperwork up to the district attorney, I can write him a ticket compelling him to show up in court.

"And I can get back to my beat protecting my citizens from rapists and burglars," he added. "It's a no-brainer."

But the Fort Worth Police Department and the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office see it differently. Assistant District Attorney David Montague said his agency is advising local law enforcement agencies to continue taking into custody anyone who violates the law governing marijuana possession.

"It is our desire that they continue to handle these cases as they've been handled in the past," Montague said. "It would be a big hassle to implement the new policy, and there would be no guarantee that we would have the tools we need to make sure these folks made it back for their court appearance."

Lt. Robert Rangel, who heads the narcotics division for the Fort Worth Police, said the department will follow the DA's recommendation. He said most arrests involving small amounts of marijuana are made by patrol officers who find the stash in the course of making traffic stops or other routine business.

"Our unit is targeting the trafficking of more dangerous substances," Rangel said.

State Rep. Jerry Madden, a Richardson Republican who chairs the House Corrections Committee, said he introduced the legislation at the behest of law enforcement organizations who expressed concerns about local jail overcrowding and about whether police officers' time could be better spent rather than taking misdemeanor offenders into custody.

The measure passed 132-0 in the House and 29-1 in the Senate. Houston's Dan Patrick, a Republican, cast the sole dissenting vote.

"This is not about decriminalizing marijuana," Madden said. "There's nothing in the legislation about that." Under the new law, possessing less than two ounces of marijuana remains a Class B misdemeanor punishable by 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,000. Possession of two ounces to four ounces remains a Class A misdemeanor and is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

Perry spokeswoman Krista Moody said the governor has no problem with local law enforcement agencies deciding to allow citations to be written in marijuana-possession cases as long as the suspects are held accountable.

Ana Yanez Correa, director of the Criminal Justice Coalition, said the new law makes sense for both law enforcement agencies and for those accused of possessing small amounts of marijuana.

"This says to the police officer, you have the experience and judgment to decide whether this person needs to be taken to jail immediately," she said. "And for the person accused, if he is given a citation, he doesn't risk losing his job because he misses work or risk losing his home because he lost his job. He still has to go to court, and he still faces punishment."

-- MAP Posted-by: Richard Lake


Pubdate: Fri, 24 Aug 2007
Source: Ft. Worth Star-Telegram (TX)
Copyright: 2007 Star-Telegram Operating, Ltd.
Contact: letters@star-telegram.com
Website: http://www.star-telegram.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/162
Author: John Moritz
Referenced: the bill
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/80R/billtext/html/HB02391F.htm
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?246 (Policing - United States)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?247 (Crime Policy - United States)
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n992.a01.html

keep Austin weird

i dont think its weird i think its awesome and about time

i agree peachie girl
it is high time ...

and it is much better
than alcohol

austin's slogan is keep austin weird

Yes, it is the slogan.

i was not aware of that slogan

nor was i and i used to live there

I agree, alcohol kills more people & makes you do stupid things you always regret, weed doesn't make you lose your head!

another reason to move to Austin.. besides music and weirdness...hmmm...maybe they are all related?

As a legal CA,215 user I am glad.I take morphine also,witch one do you think is safer,I would use way more morphine with out it.I know I am not sure I should post this,but I am someone who can act as a normal[all most]person.I cry nonstop if I don't take my prescribed medications.Yet every day I see these clips on TV that say I am a piece of shi* because I do something my DR says to do so I can get up and be a parent.I would never want any children to use or even be around drugs.I am one of the biggest child advocates you will ever meet and have years of giving my time to help children.God has made it so that hundreds of books,jump ropes,toys,ect[it was all God,I just helped].I fell like a lesser person sometimes,people don't care about other,and many treat the disabled like scum.Why don't I see stuff about other meds?If you ever knew the pain of being shot,the fire that burns me,stabbing pain and burning of 350 pellets in your leg,making it hard to anything.then you would know how happy I am for all of the people who will get some help with their medical problems.I hope the world learns to act in compassion and love,to not punish people for wanting to live.TRULY Kenny

i have suffered so many injuries
from transferring patients
while working in the health care industry
and being that so many people think i look so good,
they couldn't imagine how i could be hurting
since i work hard, garden and ride a bike
despite my constant pain...
so they thought i was a hypochondriac ..
until they took an MRI of just my neck
and found bone spurs and bulging discs
and a myriad of other repetitive strain injuries
..
do you know? after that ,
my doctor insisted that i begin
a maintainance program of 20 mg of morphine
three times a day for starters
i tried that for one day ..
i thought i was going to die..
i was so out of it and my grandson called twice
and i was sleeping right by the phone
and i didn't even hear it ring...

and it was 9 in the morning and i never sleep that late,
so i said that very day ..that is it, i am done
i am not going to allow myself to be a zombie...

so i smoke on rare occasion
to help me relax & displace pain...

alcohol is a killer
and so are those heavy duty pain killers...

they had a show on the history channel awhile back

and the insinuation of said show was that

arizona new mexico

i do not remember if texas and california were mentioned or not

but the reason that they made the sell of pot

by permit only

was to help rid those states of the illegal mexicans

during the depression

maybe i should file for one of those tax stamps

but that is how they get around the constitution

they say you need a tax stamp on the product

and then they do not issue any stamps for said product

they did it with the thompson machine gun

before the one for pot

and the supreme court upheld it

so much for by the people

Just another way to pass the buck.

just another way to suppress the people

anyone who is interested should read

"the emperor wears no clothes"

by Jack Herer

www.jackherer.com

or just enter the name of the book in google

it is all there online

read about william randolf hearst and john dow
and their involvement in getting hemp illegal
the prohibition and lies that went along with it

they hafd a lot of the lies and stuff they used

on the show

and how they ignored research that showed

that pot did not cause the issues they

used to help pass the stamp tax act

they had a lot of the lies and stuff they used

on the show

and how they ignored research that showed

that pot did not cause the issues they

used to help pass the stamp tax act

"Hooked! Illegal Drugs & How They Got That Way; Marijuana"

Was that the show? hehe, I've got several of that series on my DVR. Interesting too how little crime was involved before they shut down the pot bars. Prohibition = crime.

We've got a first time offenders law here. If you get caught with a possesion charge and it's your first drug offense, it's still a criminal charge but automaticaly excludes jails time. It was a good start, but I still feel full legalisation & regulation needs to happen. The true origin of the war on drugs began in 1914 with the opiate acts, a war nearly 100 years old & still failing, it's time for change. Not just with drugs either, gambling, polygamy, prostitution, if it doesn't infringe on your neighbors rights it should be your right;^]

i am not sure the name of the show but

i am pretty sure it was the history channel

and they did have a couple other things on there

but yeah that was those (dang i had it but now its gone)

mostly women marching around trying to tell everyone how to live their lives

but yeah if it is not hurting anybody it should not be illegal

maybe everyone should flood washington for the pot tax stamp

and keep them from getting to spend time with their interns