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New policy to decriminalize marijuana in Harris County will save time, money, DA’s office says
Houston Chronicle ^ | 2-16-2016 | Brian Rogers

Posted on 02/16/2017 9:00:46 AM PST by Snickering Hound

Houston and Harris County are poised to decriminalize low-level possession of marijuana in a sweeping move that puts the area at the forefront of efforts in Texas to halt minor drug arrests that clog jails and courts.

District Attorney Kim Ogg is set to announce the new policy Thursday with Mayor Sylvester Turner, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo and Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.

The new policy, set to begin March 1, means that misdemeanor offenders with less than four ounces of marijuana will not be arrested, ticketed or required to appear in court if they agree to take a four-hour drug education class, officials said.

"You do not get charged with anything," Assistant District Attorney David Mitcham, who heads the DA's trial bureau, said Wednesday. "You have a pathway where you can avoid going to court."

The move would save Harris County more than $10 million a year by diverting an estimated 12,000 people from the criminal justice system and would save officers hours of processing time now spent on low-level cases, officials said.

Since there is no arrest, there is no arrest record. Since there is no court date, there are no court documents connected to the encounter. The plan calls for officers to seize the marijuana and drop it off at a police station at the end of their shift, along with a record of the encounter in case the suspect does not take the class.

(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; News/Current Events; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: cannabis; marijuana; pot
A little background, democrats swept Harris county in the 2016 elections.

4oz is a lot of weed.

1 posted on 02/16/2017 9:00:46 AM PST by Snickering Hound
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To: Snickering Hound

Please got this story to Willie Nelson.


2 posted on 02/16/2017 9:05:32 AM PST by umgud
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To: Snickering Hound

A city cannot “decriminalize” a state law. What a poorly written article.

Sounds more like they are going to flout the law, like Democrats always do.


3 posted on 02/16/2017 9:11:09 AM PST by fwdude (Democrats have not been this angry since Republicans freed the slaves.)
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To: Snickering Hound

Damn! I live here.


4 posted on 02/16/2017 10:02:33 AM PST by Mi-kha-el ((There is no Pravda in Izvestiya and no Izvestiya in Pravda.))
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To: TheStickman; dainbramaged; dljordan; beaversmom; varyouga; dware; T-Bone Texan

For your interest.


5 posted on 02/16/2017 11:03:06 AM PST by KC_Lion ("I'm a believer that you don't need a title, and you don't need an office to make a difference"~S.P.)
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To: KC_Lion

Thanks for the ping.

If it’s legal under current state law for these municipalities to do this I see no problem with decriminalizing 4oz of cannabis.

It should have never been criminalized in the 1st place.


6 posted on 02/16/2017 11:30:22 AM PST by TheStickman (And their fear tastes like sunshine puked up by unicorns.)
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To: TheStickman

Wow, I do not think in my entire life I possessed 4 ozs of pot at one time.

That is a lot of pot.

PS: The drug awareness class: Do they cover the different doobie-rolling methods? I remember kids used to use a dollar bill, and I’m pretty sure they still sell those little doobie rolling devices.

They should cover all the different strains and the difference between them. Texans, IMO, tend to be ignorant of those nuances.


7 posted on 02/16/2017 12:28:03 PM PST by T-Bone Texan (:^¤)
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