TPD: More Citations Than Jail Bookings For Low-Level Marijuana Offenders In 2024

TUSCALOOSA, AL — A little more than half of misdemeanor marijuana-related traffic stops conducted by the Tuscaloosa Police Department last year resulted in the offender receiving a citation instead of a trip to the county jail, TPD Chief Brent Blankley told members of the City Council earlier this week.

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This comes as the city discussed amending ordinances to include a 2022 measure enacted by the council that allowed TPD to issue citations for small amounts of marijuana and drug paraphernalia to those who cooperate with police during traffic stops.

“Writing a citation instead of making an arrest can put an officer back on the street in minutes," Blankley told Patch on Thursday. "That’s more time in our neighborhoods and less time off the road.”

Blankley said of the 624 second-degree possession of marijuana (POM 2) cases handled through Tuscaloosa Municipal Court last year, 317 were citations.

Last year's numbers can also be compared to 2023 totals after the new policy was first implemented, with 699 individuals charged with second-degree possession of marijuana.

Of those charged in 2023, 294 were issued a citation instead of being taken to jail, marking a lower percentage than last year.

Jefferson County also implemented a "cite-and-release" policy for low-level offenders in 2019, while leaders in other cities, such as Mobile and Montgomery, are pushing for similar changes to local ordinances.

"This is excellent because that saves your officers' time, because each POM 2 arrest, you're looking at probably two, two-and-a-half hours," Blankley said of the time spent by officers on such calls. "Then a lot of the ones that weren't given citations were because they were not cooperative, or they had additional charges, and we're going to book them in on all the charges rather than taking time for that ticket."

This also comes at a time of some confusion at the state level, after Alabama banned the sale and possession of smokable hemp products on July 1 — a law that has no impact on possession of marijuana purchased on the street.

While possession of marijuana for personal use in most cases is prosecuted as a low-level misdemeanor in Alabama, the possession or sale of the now-banned hemp products can be considered a Class C felony that could carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.

Blankley reiterated that if an offender in possession of marijuana is cooperative and the officer determines that the amount of marijuana is for personal use, they will receive a ticket.

"If you're not cooperative, we're going to take you to jail," Blankley said. "It's going to be up to the individual officer to determine if [the amount in question] is going to be for personal use or non-personal use. ... so it's going to be, basically, case-by-case."

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