Round Rock, TX: 5 years to life in prison for mar1juana and hash oil?

You'd think that, but I knew people who were arrested in WilCo for minor quantities/paraphernalia, and they had the book thrown at them. That county is very puritanical. One of the only speeding tickets I ever got was going 62 in 60 mph zone in WilCo. The deputy wanted to search my car too since my name did "not sound Christian".

 

... and after his probation he'll move to Colorado. FTW.

 

The law is pretty specific on "adulterants and dilutants." Any 19 year old kid that can get his paws on a pound of weed probably knew the risks of what he was doing, he just ignored them.

I don't think this case would be pled down to a misdemeanor in Travis County, let alone WilCo, particularly with all of the press. Assuming he has no criminal history, if I was representing him, I'd try to get him a deferred adjudication on a lesser felony with some time in the county jail as a condition. It'd be a hard sell.

 

I think this is a bunch of B.S. and is just sad

I assume his parents aren't rich

5 years to life? Victimless crime? America? ~shakes head~

 

Meanwhile, rich kid gets probation for killing 4 people while driving under the influence of alcohol.

 

He didn't have a "real" pound though, he used less than 4 grams of hash oil, baked some brownies, got busted and they weighed the entire batch. That Chron article seems like it conveniently left out that tiny detail.

 

If only the zealots could see how this type stuff damages thier overall cause. It may feel like a victory in the short run, but there's a whole generation of youth watching this stuff happen. Change is going to slap them in the face within the next 25-30 years, if they're even here to see it.

 

Life in prison should not even be mentioned in this instance. There is no way that he will get life in prison but still should not be mentioned. There are far worse crimes that do not have that harsh of punishment.

 

Such a messed up system. Texas is so backwards.

 

It is in the Chron article. It just says that they CAN. It doesn't say they WILL. You even have a quote from a county prosecutor explaining that if you dissolved cocaine into Coca Cola, you could be charged for the weight of the soda, BUT "I don't think I would." I don't know if this is the prosecutor for this case, but it certainly sounds like they have some discretion.

 

selling large amts ofweed shouldn't be felony drug trafficking..

its a public service

 

If by zealots you mean private prison corporations & attorneys, then yeah, they know what their lobbying efforts produce.

This guy would be an tax paying and job producing entrepreneur in Colorado if there weren't a system profiting off his incarceration.

 

Wait....wait...wait...wait....

Did none of you know before this incident that small time drug dealers have irrationally long prison sentences ??

I can't be the only one that's not surprised by this.

 

You nailed it. 70% of Texas prisons are FOR-PROFIT companies. They get paid by the state per person. They make a -Profit- on human life. The justice system is a mill to feed the prison-industrial complex.

It's the same with privatized education (DeVry, etc). They sponge off the GI Bill like you wouldn't believe.

Two things that shouldn't make a profit are prisons and education, because the bottom line is profit, not bettering lives.

 

Combination of culture in America and Tobacco, Pharmaceutical, and alcohol companies lobbying against the legalization of mar1juana because it would hurt their profits.

 

Hey, here's an idea...maybe don't deal drugs and it won't be an issue, eh?

Look, I've used weed in the past. I think weed should be legal. But it's not (in Texas). And a lot of people don't want it to be, for various reasons. So the laws are tough. We ALL know this. It's no secret. So don't be surprised if you get in big time trouble for dealing. And make no mistake: he's a dealer. Just because it's in brownie form doesn't make it any less of a drug (in fact, ingested weed is usually much stronger than smoked).

He rolled the dice, he lost. No tears AT ALL for this kid.

 

I think we all would agree that it is foolish to try and play your luck against the law, but to say that you don't feel bad for a kid going to jail for a very very long time due to a law that is only in place because of lobbying from various groups like FOR-PROFIT prison systems, pharmaceuticals, alcohol, and tobacco companies is somewhat unsympathetic as a human being..