In its first year of existence, officials estimated the misdemeanor marijuana diversion program run by the Harris County
District Attorney’s Office saved the county about $17 million and allowed it to better allocate its resources toward crimes against people and property.
The program—which Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg began on March 1, 2017—allows individuals caught with less than 4 ounces of marijuana to take a four-hour diversion class in place of being charged and arrested for the crime. Individuals must pay a $150 fine and attend a class—which is held multiple times each week—within 90 days, said Nathan Beedle, chief of the DA’s misdemeanor division.
In its first full year, the program was offered and accepted in 4,118 cases. Meanwhile, 2,057 misdemeanor marijuana cases filed over that time by the DA’s office were not eligible for the program, said Elizabeth Eakin, the DA’s director of special projects.
“If you try to bring marijuana into a Harris County jail or correctional facility, if you have marijuana in a school zone, … if you are on bond for a felony, or on probation for a felony, you are not eligible [for the program],” Beedle said.
Ogg intended for the program to allow the county to focus more on crimes related to people and property, Beedle said.
The number of aggravated assault cases the DA’s office filed last year increased from 3,005 in 2016 to 4,025 in 2017, while the number of robbery cases filed increased from 1,859 in 2016 to 1,936 in 2017, according to data provided by the DA’s office.
Although it is hard to measure how much the county has saved, Eakin said she estimates the savings are about $17.25 million. This estimate includes the amount of money saved at the DA’s office as well as money saved within police departments, at the jails, courts, crime labs and in indigent defense.