Over 60,000 thousand Texans were arrested last year for marijuana possession. How should we punish our fellow Texans for the “crime” of pot possession?
Support House Bill 902-
Currently possession of any usable amount of marijuana is at least a class b misdemeanor (2 ounces or less), the same level of offense as DWI. 902 would make possession of less than one ounce of pot a class c misdemeanor, basically a traffic ticket. Even if you disagree with the legalization of marijuana, you should support 902.
Every prosecution is a choice (opportunity costs are real) of how to spend your tax dollars. 902 forces prosecutor and police to quit wasting time on college kids with weed and move on to more important cases.
The vast majority (I would estimate at least 90%) of all marijuana arrests and prosecutions are for simple class B possession. It’s not hard to catch marijuana consumers. They can be overly honest about having a joint in their console. Many also fall victim to police consent searches.
Misdemeanor dockets are clogged with these cases. Police officers waste hours investigating, arresting, and booking pot defendants. DPS drug labs are flooded with half burnt roaches that require expensive time consuming testing.
Busting pot users isn’t cheap, and provides no public safety benefit. The less time officers, ADAs, and DPS lab techs spend on marijuana enforcement, the more time they can spend on real crime.
It’s time to end the inanity. Call, write, fax, or email your rep today and ask them to support 902. Don’t know who your state rep is? Too lazy to write an original letter? NORML has done all the work for you, just click here.