Harris County, Texas, Houston to Stop Prosecuting Pot Cases
As the Federal Government shows no signs of letting up on its ridiculous War on Drugs, Americans are starting to revolt at the local level even through local government officials. For instance, a recent announcement by Harris County D.A. Kim Ogg and Houston City officials is taking a step away from the caging of peaceful people with possession and use of cannabis.
By virtue of the new policy being enacted by Harris County (which includes Houston), law enforcement will no longer arrest and the D.A. will no longer prosecute most marijuana possession cases that are under four ounces beginning on March 1st.
This new policy will keep thousands of people out of jail and save the county millions of dollars. D.A. Ogg said, “At 107,000 cases over the last ten years, we have spent in excess of $250 million dollars collectively prosecuting a crime that has produced no tangible evidence of improved public safety.”
Widget not in any sidebars
Director of the Fair Punishment Project, Rob Smith, praised the new program by saying,
Prior to today, a person found in possession of four ounces or less of marijuana in Houston faced arrest and possible jail time. Even four or five days in jail could mean a lost job or an uncared for child or elderly parent. Today, District Attorney Kim Ogg took an important step toward making the justice system more humane and fair by recognizing that shuffling more people through the system for non-violent drug offenses was doing more harm than good.
Under the new program, people caught with marijuana will be fined $150 and be required to take a four-hour diversion class.
We applaud Harris County and D.A. Kim Ogg on taking a much-needed step forward into the 21st century toward the end of the oppressive and pointless drug war.
Image:Â www.healthworkscollective.com
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Brandon Turbeville – article archive here – is an author out of Florence, South Carolina. He is the author of six books, Codex Alimentarius — The End of Health Freedom, 7 Real Conspiracies,Five Sense Solutions and Dispatches From a Dissident, volume 1 and volume 2, The Road to Damascus: The Anglo-American Assault on Syria,and The Difference it Makes: 36 Reasons Why Hillary Clinton Should Never Be President. Turbeville has published over 950 articles dealing on a wide variety of subjects including health, economics, government corruption, and civil liberties. Brandon Turbeville’s podcast Truth on The Tracks can be found every Monday night 9 pm EST at UCYTV. He is available for radio and TV interviews. Please contact activistpost (at) gmail.com.
