Despite common misconceptions, each county in Texas, whether it’s Ft. Bend or Harris, marijuana is illegal and a misdemeanor charge (or a felony is some cases). Although the District Attorney in each county may choose to enforce the policy in different ways, there’s no dodging this strict Texas law.
To provide context, attorney Shawn McDonald at SMB Criminal Defense Lawyers in Sugar Land explains in this video what you can expect for possession of marijuana by county in the Houston area. If someone in Harris County has possession of under 2 ounces of marijuana, they will be ticketed. A sandwich bag will hold less than 2 ounces of marijuana. In these cases, offenders in Harris County can take a court-appointed drug class and perform community service to have the charge dismissed. Unfortunately, you will deal with an arrest record for a year or two as you wait for your case to be dropped.
Other counties, like Ft. Bend and Brazoria, still prosecute fully with jail time included for any amount of possession. McDonald cited that Ft. Bend is looking into new policy on the court level (not on the scene with law enforcement) to provide leniency for first-time, low level marijuana offenders. Offenders would then be given an opportunity to take a class and perform community service to have the charge expunged.
Although the state of Texas has made strides on the use of hemp, marijuana remains to be a hot ticket that legislatures won’t reduce their stronghold. In Ft. Bend County, any amount of marijuana will result in an arrest. If you are caught with a gallon size bag of marijuana, you are close to exceeding the 4 ounce marker, which is a felony charge in the state of Texas.