Palm Beach County’s Sheriff Office is holding off from a new policy passed last year by the county commission to remove jail time for low-level marijuana possession. Sheriff Ric Bradshaw has not implemented the commission’s ordinance, pending review.
The new ordinance reduces penalties for those found with less than 20 grams (less than an ounce) of marijuana from possible arrests to a $100 citation, similar to a traffic ticket. One reason for the commission’s support for the new policy was reports that jailing small time offenders cost the county’s tax payers $1.1 million between 2009 and 2015. However, the sheriff’s office questioned this cost, requesting the County’s Justice Commission to reexamine the estimate. On Monday, the CJC issued revised estimates, which reduced the cost of jailing offenders to $322,915 over the 6-year period. The higher figure had included those arrested for associated minor offenses, such as trespassing.
“I assume the sheriff’s office is trying to make an argument that it isn’t costing the county all that much to arrest people found with small quantities of marijuana. But cost isn’t the real issue here,” said county attorney, Wes Cooper. “The issue is that people, mostly youth, are being branded with arrest records that impede their future careers. The county voted to protect these offenders by having them cited. This decision should be honored by the sheriff’s office.”
Attempts to make contact with the sheriff office or its spokesperson was unsuccessful, but according to reports, the department has instead elected to follow the guidelines of the state’s statute for dealing with people found with marijuana. This statute makes possession of even small quantities of marijuana a misdemeanor offense, punishable by up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine.
The county’s proposed policy, however, also grants case by case discretion for law enforcement, says Cooper, as officers can decide whether to issue a citation or make an arrest. In addition, the ordinance is binding only to the unincorporated sections of the county.
County resident Nicola Harris, who has had close family members arrested for possession of “tiny amounts” of marijuana prior to the passage of the ordinance, wants the county commission to “take up the matter again.”
“The commission approval is very vague,” says Harris. “They should ensure it’s enforceable by law enforcement once the offense is only possession of less than an ounce of the herb.”
Despite the delay by sheriff’s office, County Commissioner Steven Abrams, who voted for the ordinance, said he’s optimistic after further review the sheriff’s office will implement the ordinance. On the other hand, according to reports, Commissioner Priscilla Taylor wants to withhold funds from the sheriff’s budget to offset the cost of jailing offenders, instead of issuing citations.
