Marijuana charge dismissed

The progressive Travis County Attorney’s Office dismissed my client’s possession of marijuana (POM) charge today in exchange for him pleading guilty to a lesser charge of possession of drug paraphernalia, which is a class C misdemeanor (same category as traffic offenses). All my client had to do was pay $172 in fines and court costs. In POM cases like this one, which was a class B misdemeanor because it involved less than two ounces of marijuana, the Travis County Attorney usually gives first-time offenders a break. The prosecutors recognize that a POM conviction results in the burdensome automatic suspension of an offender’s driver’s license for six months, which can often lead to someone becoming a repeat offender if they drive with the suspended license. Our prosecutors want to put these defendants in the best possible position to overcome their criminal charge, so they’ll usually dismiss the charge in exchange for the defendant completing a 15-hour drug education class and community service.

Now that police officers are permitted to issue “sign and release” citations whereby POM defendants aren’t booked into jail when they possess less than two ounces, marijuana possession could almost be said to be “decriminalized” for first-time offenders in Travis County, as they’re likely to have the charge reduced to the same grade as a traffic offense, which carries no possibility of jail time.

On the other hand, if you go up the road to Williamson County, the situation is much different. Even if you get caught with just a joint, you’re likely to be sentenced to 18 months probation, and if you violate any conditions of that probation, it’s not uncommon for one of the no-nonsense judges to slap you with a 90-day jail sentence.