Palm Beach County (PBC) Commissioners have delayed plans to allow civil citations for individuals arrested for small amounts of marijuana.
The decision comes after the County Sheriff’s office expressed concerns regarding whether the citation will replace any arrests.
The idea behind the county’s proposal is to reduce the number of people jailed and then saddled with criminal records for possessing a drug that has increasingly become more acceptable across the country.
Palm Beach County had about 7,500 cases of marijuana possession of 20 grams or less from 2010 to 2014. About 90 percent of the time that resulted in an arrest, according to the county.
Miami-Dade County has already approved a similar law providing alternatives to arrests for such crimes.
