No Jail. No Bail. No Permanent Record.

From the Houston Chronicle

Democratic nominee for Harris County District Attorney, Kim Ogg, will have a press conference today (copied below) to outline her vision for the District Attorney's office including the future of misdemeanor marijuana prosecution.

If you have ever been a member of a grand jury in Harris County this one issue might be of interest. Marijuana possession is illegal. No one disputes that, but many question taking six police officers off the street to book an individual with a joint. Or putting an extra burden on our jail system. Or flooding a grand jury with cases of possession of trace amounts of weed, reefer, MJ. There has to be a better way.

No Jail. No Bail. No Permanent Record. This sounds promising. If someone is not endangering others, but are in possession of a small amount of weed, they should be held accountable, but we shouldn't be punished for it also. A heavy fine and enough probation to make someone want to wait till marijuana is legal sounds like a better way to handle these issues, although I do not know the specifics of her proposal. It should be discussed at her press conference.

For Immediate Release

Press Conference -- Kim Ogg for Harris County District Attorney
Contact: @kimoggforda & @harriscountyyd
Date:  Today, Friday, July 25, 2014
Time:  10:00 am
Place: Jury Assembly Plaza (public area directly across from the Harris County Criminal Justice Center – 1201 Franklin)

What:  Kim Ogg will detail her vision and plan to begin changing the direction of criminal justice in Harris County by introducing the G.R.A.C.E. (Government Resource Allocation/Criminal Exemption) Program --the future of misdemeanor marijuana prosecution in Harris County:  “No Jail.  No Bail.  No Permanent Record.”