In order to reduce costs associated with the prosecution of certain minor offenses such as marijuana possession the State of Texas gave police officers the ability or option of issuing tickets for certain possession of marijuana arrests instead of effectuating an actual custodial arrest. This State of Texas passed this bill into law in 2007. While a person may not initially be booked into the Travis County jail in the City of Austin, the arrest while non-custodial will still show up on the person's criminal record. The marijuana ticket is still considered an arrest for the purposes of a criminal background check and will be available to the public. Some citizens have incorrectly assumed that the State of Texas, Travis County, or the City of Austin has de-criminalized possession of marijuana or that the offense of possession of marijuana is similar to a traffic offense. Even though this law has been in effect for several years now, people still have misconceptions regarding the true meaning of the law. Cite and Release ticket programs have been implemented by both the Austin Police Department and the Travis County Sheriff's Department. The decision of whether or not to arrest an individual for a minor marijuana offense is discretionary by the officer. The Austin Police Department and Travis County Sheriff's Office can and will still arrest people for minor marijuana offenses.
The individuals that are cited and released instead of being arrested for their marijuana charge will be given a citation and directed to JP-5 or Travis County Justice of the Peace 5. These individuals will go through the magistration process, the bonding process, and will then, like everyone else, go to court to battle out their criminal case. Some individuals choose to hire an attorney or criminal defense lawyer after they have been cited for possession of marijuana and other's choose to wait until after they have been through the magistration process and bonding process.

§ 481.121. OFFENSE: POSSESSION OF MARIHUANA. (MARIJUANA)

(a) Except as authorized by this chapter, a person commits an offense if the person knowingly or intentionally possesses a usable quantity of marihuana.

(b) An offense under Subsection (a) is:

(1) a Class B misdemeanor if the amount of marihuana possessed is two ounces or less;

(2) a Class A misdemeanor if the amount of marihuana possessed is four ounces or less but more than two ounces;

(3) a state jail felony if the amount of marihuana possessed is five pounds or less but more than four ounces;

(4) a felony of the third degree if the amount of marihuana possessed is 50 pounds or less but more than 5 pounds;

(5) a felony of the second degree if the amount of marihuana possessed is 2,000 pounds or less but more than 50 pounds; and

(6) punishable by imprisonment in the institutional division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for life or for a term of not more than 99 years or less than 5 years, and a fine not to exceed $50,000, if the amount of marihuana possessed is more than 2,000 pounds.