In Tarrant County, people facing pot charges can have their cases dismissed if they turn over a new leaf

People charged in Tarrant County with possessing a small amount of marijuana can get that charge dismissed — and keep it from clogging up the court system — according to the county’s top prosecutor.

Criminal District Attorney Sharen Wilson said Monday in a written statement that rehabilitation is one goal of the criminal justice system, and that sobriety is a step toward that rehabilitation for drug users.

Anyone facing a charge of less than 2 ounces of marijuana can have that charge dismissed if they show authorities three clean drug tests in three months.“Get sober. Get your case dismissed. Get on with your sober life,” said Wilson, a Republican.

Possessing that amount of pot is a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine. It was the most-common charge in Tarrant County courts last year, with 3,750 cases filed.

In Dallas County, commissioners passed a “cite-and-release” program in 2017 that allowed police to issue a court summons to people possessing up to 4 ounces of marijuana instead of booking them into jail.

Supporters said the program let police focus on violent crime and reduced incarceration costs, but critics said it didn’t go far enough.

In April 2019, Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot, a Democrat, announced a policy of declining to prosecute marijuana-possession charges for most first-time offenders. He highlighted in his announcement a wide racial gap in such charges: The county’s Black residents were three times more likely to face prosecution than people of other races.

This fall, Dallas City Council member Adam Bazaldua proposed decriminalizing small amounts of pot. Through the end of September, Dallas police had made about 2,000 marijuana-related arrests; more than 80% of them were for for less than 2 ounces.