Dallas Is On the Right Track With Marijuana Cite and Release Program

It's always a good day when common sense wins. Dallas police won't be throwing small-time marijuana offenders in jail.

Four ounces is the magic number. If you're caught with less than that in Dallas, you're likely to only get a citation. Now keep in mind, you are still going to be charged with a Class A misdemeanor and could face up to a year in jail. Really, the only thing that changes is that you're not going to jail immediately.

So, in effect, you get to skip one visit to the pokey and maybe another. The move was approved by the Dallas City Council yesterday.

Bottom lining it for you: This isn't great, but it is certainly a step in the right direction. It's a waste of time and police resources to spend their day dealing with small-time marijuana users. Prosecuting these people leads to unnecessarily ruined lives and, in my opinion, a real mistrust of the government. (Right now, surveys are showing as much as 60 percent of Americans believe pot should be legal.)

Before you run off to the metroplex thinking you can smoke all you want, keep in mind this program doesn't start until October.