A CIVIL PENALTY FOR POSSESSION OF A SMALL AMOUNT OF MARIJUANA

OUR CURRENT SYSTEM

$734 million a year spent in Texas on 70,000 marijuana arrests and prosecutions, mostly involving small amounts and young people
Even just paying the fine is a final drug conviction that can never be sealed or removed from a persons record; consequences can
include denial or loss of financial aid for school, naturalization, housing, and employment, and an automatic drivers license suspension
Arrests and prosecutions have no deterrent effect heremarijuana use has not declined in Texasbut they do actually make our streets
more dangerous by diverting law enforcement from more serious crimes and spurring drug-related violence

A CIVIL PENALTY SYSTEM

Makes possession of a small amount of marijuana a civil matter punishable by a fine but not a criminal conviction; courts can allow
some of the fine to be paid off through the offender taking drug education courses or doing community service
Offenders are brought to court by citation rather than arrest, and marijuana is confiscated just as its done under the current system
Taxpayers save money, law enforcement saves resources, and those who pay the fine save their educations, homes, jobs, and licenses
Civil penalty systems have been successful improvements in states that have adopted them, such as Massachusetts

ANSWERS TO CONCERNS OVER A CIVIL PENALTY SYSTEM

This bill doesnt promote marijuana use. Possessing marijuana remains illegal and fineable; the message is still that marijuana isnt
okay in Texas. Eased criminal penalties for marijuana in other states have led to declines in usage. Selling marijuana remains a crime.
This bill isnt an unfunded mandate to counties. The current $734 million a year loss is an unfunded mandate; this bill saves money.
Police can still make arrests when they need to. Its still DWI to use marijuana and drive a car. If a marijuana user is causing problems
in public, they can still be arrested for public intoxication, disorderly conduct, or any number of other things.
Police can still search when marijuana is present. The civil penalty only applies to small amounts of marijuana, so the smell of
marijuana, for example, would still allow an officer to search a car to determine how much might be there.
The alternative of reducing the criminal penalty from a Class B to a Class C misdemeanor isnt a solution. It doesnt meaningfully
reduce the money and law enforcement resources spent on arrests and prosecutions. It doesnt reduce the real world penalties, since
most marijuana cases are already resolved by fines. It doesnt reduce the other consequencesfinancial aid, housing, jobs, licenses,
and so onthat take young people out of our schools and workforce. It does make burdensome final convictions more likely because,
unlike our current system, most class C offenders wont have an attorney to explain the long-term consequences of paying the fine.