How much does marijuana cost in Terrell?

I had another two court day; morning in Dallas, and afternoon in Kaufman. I had a few passes and an open plea in Dallas. I saw a few friends at the courthouse one of whom pointed out a MADD courthouse runner.

MADD sends spies to the courthouse to monitor the DWI cases. I’ve never actually seen one until today. He was an earnest looking young man armed with a notebook. I wonder who he reports to and what he is reporting? If I see him again I’ll ask.

On my open plea- I had a DWI case (don’t tell MADD), the state made a plea offer but we chose to plead open to the judge.

That is, my client pled guilty and asked the judge to set punishment. It worked out well and we received reasonable terms.

Judges are an important safety valve on the criminal justice system. If the DA is worried about offending MADD and won’t make a reasonable plea offer, sometimes you need a judge to dispense justice.

How much is weed in Terrell, Texas?
I arrived in Kaufman just in time for a 1:30 setting on a felony case. There was a hearing underway in which the defendant had pled for 8 years TDC and was asking for shock probation. Shock probation is where you serve a little TDC jail time but get out on probation. The idea being that the “shock” of jail will scare you straight.

The State wanted the judge to deny the motion and called a narcotics officer to the stand. A typical strategy in a drug sentencing is for the State to highlight the monetary value of the transaction. As an objectivist this has never made sense to me. Voluntary transactions are inherently moral. This defendant was helping to meet the perpetual demand of our nation’s millions of cannabis consumers. If he was selling cigarettes or Jegermeister there wouldn’t be an issue. Such is prohibition.

The narcotics officer was asked how much weed costs. He responded that in Terrell, Texas his last buy was $250 for a quarter pound. He also said a full pound may not be $1000 (economies of scale happen).

Here is what is amazing about supply and demand. Terrell is a small town of 13,000. You can’t buy sushi in Terrell, but every day of the year you can buy pot, crack, meth etc. Unlike the doltish marijuana laws of our state, the laws of supply and demand are always obeyed.

The officer went on to discuss the fundamentals of the marijuana market. Marijuana is bought in El Paso and shipped east (Dallas, Atlanta etc). The border price will rise or fall depending on border security and whether the buyer has a decent connect. The retail price depends on the risk involved, the number of mules required etc.

So what happened to this defendant? For the “crime” of possessing 80 pounds of a verboten plant he is serving 8 years in TDC at taxpayer expense.

What did this prosecution accomplish? We could ask the narcotics officer what happens when you reduce supply and demand stays the same. Somewhere 80 pounds of marijuana did not arrive, the local price will increase, and supply will follow.

Updated:

8 responses to “How much does marijuana cost in Terrell?”

  1. Don Foard says:

    A little off subject but related, you won’t believe that we actually have a County Attorney in Hockley County who doesn’t want to throw all the little users in jail, or stick them with a crime on their record for life. He is starting a pre-trial diversion program, for pom misdemeanors, where he requires a few things like a little community service and education. If they complete it, no charges filed. This is notable only in that it makes sense, a rarity for a prosecutor in a rural Texas county. Pisses probation off. Good. I think it’s a good idea.

  2. Dallas and Kaufman both have pre trial diversion programs. Kaufman’s is a 6 month program, Dallas is 60 days. Both allow for a dismissal and eventual expunction of records.

    Instead of counting on the altruism of enlightened DA’s to save our children from being permanently branded as criminals we need to a) legalize it or b) make pom a class C offense.

    The proliferation of pre trial diversion for pom shows that even DA’s are catching on to how stupid our state’s pot laws are.

    Thanks for reading Don.

  3. MG says:

    For the record, you can get sushi in Terrell. It ain’t good, but you can get it.

  4. Robert Guest says:

    MG,
    Do tell. I thought I had eaten at every place in Terrell and I’ve never seen a sushi place.

    RG

  5. MG says:

    RG,
    Chinese buffet in Brookshire’s Center. I’ll admit that I’ve not been brave enough to try it, but it’s there.

  6. prosecutor says:

    Some years ago as a new prosecutor, I began resetting minor pom cases, particularly first offenders, to take a drug education course and pay courtcosts, at which time I would dismiss the case.

    My boss didn’t like it but let me do it. I guess for once I was ahead of the curve.

    Didn’t seem right that kids with a joint get a “dangerous drug” notation on their CCH and TDL history and those kids drinking hard stuff just get a class C PI.

  7. Andres Morin III says:

    Kaufman County which includes Terrell, TX is one of the most backward places I’ve ever seen!! It’s almost like a comedy show….and here are the players….Walt Newell an investigator for the Terrell PD. He is a Chuck Norris wannabe with a bunch of BS cloak and dagger stories about his pathetic carrer….Then their is the late Louis Conradt Jr. The ex- district attorney who killed himself as a result of an investigation by Dateline for trying to solicit sex from young boys online. Then, you have Volon Tygrette the state district judge who is more corrupt than the Mexican State Police. He is known as the mangy, circus monkey. Then you have Karla Stone…The county jail administrater who left her husband for the owner of her jail’s commissary and phone system. She is known as the worn out, circus clown due to her age and extensive use of bright red hair dye. And last but not least, you have Erin McGrath an incompetant defense attorney from Dallas’ ritzy Turtle Creek district. She drives about 50 miles to take on indigent, court appointed cases in Kaufman County because she is not very good at practicing law. If she actually took on any cases in her Turtle Creek district, she would probobly be sued and disbarred for incompetance. You see residents of Turtle Creek expect lawyers to be qualified; Inmates in Kaufman County Jail don’t have any recourse when they get unqualified, unprepared, and incompetant, state paid “lawyers”. Erin Mc Grath knows they get exactly what they pay for…..NOTHING!!…IN OTHER WORDS THEY GET HER.

  8. W, James says:

    I ran across your article looking for Lawyers in the Dallas area that do Marijuana cases, and I have to say this is a very good article I just wish I had been in Dallas and not San Antonio whith my charges as it seems that Dallas if not lenient certainly gets things a bit better than SA

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