Citations for marijuana possession and trespassing issued by Montgomery County Police each jumped more than fourfold since 2017, according to a chart released Monday by the county’s chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
The statistics, drawn from a county online database, were discussed during a County Council committee meeting where acting police Chief Marcus Jones said the increase in marijuana citations stemmed from the state’s 2014 decriminalization of possession of up to 10 grams of marijuana.
Offenders for marijuana possession of 10 grams – about a third of an ounce — or less can be given fines of between $25 and $50 depending on whether it is a first or second offense.
According to the ACLU, there were slightly less than 1,000 marijuana citations in 2017 and around 5,500 through May 2019. Trespass citations rose from less than 200 to around 900 over the same time period.
Because the number of arrests for marijuana possession has decreased, Jones said, the number of citations has increased.
In addition to decriminalizing recreational marijuana use, Maryland also legalized medicinal marijuana around the same time.
Jones said marijuana citations were not the department’s main priority because “it’s not the most serious violation,” but he noted that there is a link between cannabis and recent drug-related homicides.
“Every drug-related homicide in the last five years has been linked to marijuana,” he said.
During the council’s Public Safety Committee meeting, Jones said the department was still evaluating the data to understand the trends behind the trespassing incident increases. The committee’s review comes a month after four black men were confronted by police for trespassing at a McDonald’s restaurant in White Oak, with a white police officer using a racial slur.
Committee member Will Jawando said he wants to see more detailed data on arrests and citations that demonstrates whether there are any underlying patterns of racial and other types of bias.
“It seems there’s not full understanding of where these things are happening and why,” he said.
Jones said that one explanation behind some trespassing incidents is that business owners become familiar with common trespassers that frequently “cause problems” at their establishments. After a certain number of incidents, the business owner may call the police out of a fear of confronting the trespassers.
“We have a responsibility to enforce laws,” Jones said.
Jones added that there is no option for those cited for trespassing to appeal, unlike those cited for marijuana possession, which Jawando said needs to change.
“We need to look into how to appeal those,” said the council member.
Dan Schere can be reached at Daniel.schere@moco360.media
