The Houston Criminal Lawyers at Sullo & Sullo will fight Drug Crime Charges in Harris County.
The Drug Crime of Marijuana Possession
Although some states have recently legalized marijuana and others have reduced prison time for low-risk, non-violent drug offenders caught in possession of small amounts of marijuana, Texas still maintains very strict drug laws. In fact, legislation introduced last summer in an attempt to reduce the penalty for possession of one ounce or less of marijuana from a Class B misdemeanor to a Class C misdemeanor did not make it out of the committee. This legislation would have effectively reduced the punishment for possession of small amounts of marijuana from six months in jail and fines as high as $2,000 to a fine of up to $500.
Although those who favored this legislation vow to attempt to get it passed once more in 2013, the likelihood is that Texas government will remain staunch regarding penalties for illegal possession of marijuana. There have been over five million arrests for possession of marijuana within the last decade alone, and Texas had its fair share of those. In the end, Texas has some of the stiffest penalties for possession of illegal drugs, particularly marijuana—in other words, there is no decriminalization of marijuana in Texas.
The Serious Nature of Drug Charges
If your criminal record is totally clean and you are caught with a small amount of marijuana, the minimum sentence a Texas judge can impose is probation and drug treatment. Those penalties can increase—even if you are caught with a single marijuana joint—to as much as $2,000 in fines, up to six months in jail and the potential loss of your driver’s license. Texas legislation passed in 2007 does give police officers the option of a “cite and release” in the case of possession of very small quantities of marijuana. Cite and release is only applicable when the person who committed the possession offense lives in the county where the offense took place and had less than four ounces of marijuana in his or her possession.
Possession of more than two ounces of marijuana—but less than four—brings fines up to $4,000, a year in jail and suspension of driver’s license for a minimum of six months. Over four ounces of marijuana in one’s possession garners a fine as high as $10,000 and up to two years in prison and for possession of any amount of marijuana over sixteen ounces there will be no probation allowed. Amounts of marijuana over five pounds equals a major drug trafficker in the court’s eyes and can result in up to ten years in a Texas state prison. Beyond the criminal penalties involved in a marijuana possession conviction, there is a wide array of serious consequences for a criminal conviction on one’s record. These include the inability to receive any type of federal funding (college loans, federal housing), the possibility of having your vehicle seized or impounded, the inability to secure employment, the loss of a current job, the inability to obtain a professional license and the stigma of a drug conviction from friends, family and community. Even being brought up on charges of drug possession can lead to a series of negative consequences.
The Benefits of a Drug Crimes Attorney
If you have been arrested on possession of marijuana charges in Texas, much of the fallout of illegal drug possession can be minimized when you have an experienced attorney by your side from the very beginning. A skilled Drug Crimes Attorney can fight to protect your rights and freedoms, especially when police or drug enforcement officials have been overaggressive or overstepped their authority. Whether you are charged with Marijuana possession, Marijuana possession with intent to deliver, or even conspiracy to deliver Marijuana, all drug charges are very serious and you must take them seriously in order to safeguard your future.
