Ordinance to end jailing for marijuana

[Pete]

Really interesting, especially since this originated with the OKCPD:

Hashed out
Oklahoma City Council to consider ordinance reducing penalties for marijuana possession.
BY NAZARENE HARRIS
Oklahoma City police chief Bill Citty introduced an ordinance reducing penalties for marijuana possession at Tuesday’s city council meeting.

If an ordinance introduced to Oklahoma City Council members on Tuesday passes in four weeks when the council votes on it, Oklahoma County Jail will no longer hold prisoners for possession of marijuana or marijuana paraphernalia.

[OkiePoke]

I'm confused by these statements.

"The new ordinance, Citty said, will eliminate any possibility of jail time and will reduce the fine to a maximum of $400."

"The new ordinance would eliminate jail time and set the maximum fine to $200 regardless of how many offenses previously committed."

Also, how does the City Council passing an ordinance effect the County Jail? I understand most of the County is within the City, but there are exceptions.

[Zuplar]

This needs to pass. Step in the right direction IMO.

[Pete]

It's just for OKC but it's a start.

Ridiculous to clog our jails and courts with these cases.

[Pete]

I'm confused by these statements.

"The new ordinance, Citty said, will eliminate any possibility of jail time and will reduce the fine to a maximum of $400."

"The new ordinance would eliminate jail time and set the maximum fine to $200 regardless of how many offenses previously committed."

Also, how does the City Council passing an ordinance effect the County Jail? I understand most of the County is within the City, but there are exceptions.

$400 for MJ, $200 for paraphernalia.

[Zuplar]

I'm assuming since it's a city ordinance it would be for all city limits, even the parts of the city that may be in other counties or technically have different mailing addresses?

[Pete]

I'm assuming since it's a city ordinance it would be for all city limits, even the parts of the city that may be in other counties or technically have different mailing addresses?

Wherever OKCPD serves.

[OkiePoke]

$400 for MJ, $200 for paraphernalia.

Ah, reading comprehension at 7:30 isn't very high.

[hfry]

Pete I'm curious if it's possible to find how many people are currently in jail for MJ possession? Or how many this normally affects a year?

[Zuplar]

Wherever OKCPD serves.

That’s what I figured. I’d imagine if okc passes it a lot of these other suburbs might do something similar.

[PaddyShack]

I thought I had heard where people serving jail time for OKC were being housed at the county jail... Maybe I have the two switched. I believe it was over the radio though.

[LakeEffect]

...Oklahoma County Jail will no longer hold Oklahoma City's prisoners for possession of marijuana or marijuana paraphernalia.

Fixed it.

[PaddyShack]

Fixed it.

I wouldn't say that is fixed... That would mean that the county is no longer going to jail people for MJ crimes if they take place in OKC limits... It needs to read that OKCPD will not sentence jail time for MJ crimes.

[jonny d]

I wouldn't say that is fixed... That would mean that the county is no longer going to jail people for MJ crimes if they take place in OKC limits... It needs to read that OKCPD will not sentence jail time for MJ crimes.

Except the OKCPD doesn't "sentence" anything.

[PaddyShack]

Except the OKCPD doesn't "sentence" anything.

OKC municipal judges*

[hoya]

There are two different entities here. You've got Oklahoma City and Oklahoma County. They have two different courthouses, one down the street from the other. They both use the Oklahoma County Jail to incarcerate people (the city pays the county for bed space).

What this will likely mean, is that Oklahoma City officers (as opposed to Oklahoma County sheriff deputies) will choose to give people a fine instead of arresting them for marijuana possession. This will not affect how the Oklahoma County sheriff's office operates.

[bchris02]

Very glad this is being discussed. This definitely needs to happen.

[CloudDeckMedia]

Is this part of the reforms led by Clay Bennett, the OKC Chamber and others?

[LocoAko]

Really hope this passes. Much needed.

Question: How does this differ from SQ780? I have to admit I'm a bit confused.

https://okpolicy.org/sq-780-already-...ustice-system/

In 2016, fed-up Oklahomans passed SQ 780, reclassifying simple drug possession as a misdemeanor and taking away the possibility of prison time for those whose most serious crime was having a controlled substance for personal use.

Edited to add: a further link in the article states that SQ 780 made it a misdemeanor, which has a fine of up to $1,000 and a maximum jail sentence of a year. So there seems to be conflicting statements in the two articles.

[ABryant]

I lived on the Indiana part of the tristate Cincinnati metro. I was told many times that if i was carrying drugs it was best to be in ohio.

[BBatesokc]

Pete I'm curious if it's possible to find how many people are currently in jail for MJ possession? Or how many this normally affects a year?

You can go to the Oklahoma City website and view the jail blotter for the last 30 days. By reading that you get an overview of who all OCPD booked into the jail and for what offenses.