PLANO – WBAP/KLIF – Effective immediately, Plano Police officers have new discretion in making custodial arrests for people found with two ounces or less of suspected marijuana. A change to the 2019 Texas law legalizing hemp means seized pot must be tested by an independent lab to determine the THC content in misdemeanor cases. That means, Plano Police indicate, an annual expenditure of up to 40 thousand dollars. Plano Police Chief Ed Drain cites a disparity in arrests of African Americans compared to whites for possession of minor amounts of marijuana; the arrests can also quickly lead to jail overcrowding. Officers may issue citations for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, which is a Class C Misdemeanor. With this policy change, offenders are still held accountable for small amounts of marijuana, except the accountability has changed from the county courts to the municipal courts.
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