Montgomery County, Texas, How it’s different from Harris County, Texas and THC vape pens, a cautionary tale…
There are 254 counties in the state of Texas. Montgomery County is directly north of Houston. It’s the Woodlands, Conroe, Willis, It is Northwest of Houston—Magnolia, heading up to the town of Montgomery. It’s Northeast of Houston. Its Kingwood, Porter, Roman Forest. You pass through it to get to Dallas, to get to Louisiana and Arkansas, depending on how you are going. It gets a lot of traffic from all over the state and country.
It is rural. It is urban. It is suburban. There is Market Street in the Woodlands with Louis Vuitton, Chanel Beauty and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse. There is also a Cowboy Joe’s Propane and a Taqueria Guerrero in Cut-n-Shoot. Yes, you read that right. There is a town called Cut-n-Shoot. You can get Michelin star level dining experience and premium shopping in the Woodlands, or the best street tacos you will ever sink your teeth in all within a 50-mile radius. It has its own unique geographic boundaries which are at times used as almost slurs, and everyone who knows, can tell you exactly what you mean when you say them. “East County” “South County” “Old Conroe”.
It is a very conservative county both politically and from a prosecution standpoint. Unlike its next-door neighbor, Harris, crimes here are treated with the utmost seriousness. So, something like Possession of Marijuana, the lowliest of crimes in criminal world–in Harris County they are not even accepting charges on those types of cases now. In fact, you can go walk the Galleria and smell marijuana like its being piped into the stores—it is that freely used and accepted. But in Montgomery County, they do prosecute Possession of Marijuana and all its iterations, including and not limited to Vape Pens. The smell of marijuana will get your car searched. Marijuana vapes are felonies here. Even if they bought it at a smoke shop. True third-degree felonies, where you are looking at 2-10 years in prison and a possible 10 thousand dollar fine. So, a teenager in a high school with the marijuana vape can be arrested, taken in a police car from school, fingerprinted, booked in to the jail, and spend the night in jail all while his or his parents are frantically trying to find out information and bond him or her out of jail.
Disabuse yourself right now of the notion that this could never happen to you or your loved one.
Would you want your teenager to spend one night in jail? I wouldn’t want mine to be there for 30 seconds, even on a field trip. It’s that gross.
Once out of jail, there is the bond supervision process when you are waiting for your court date and then finally, going to court dates along with everyone else who has been accused of different sorts of crimes and the inevitable plea negotiations or trial process.
It is not easy. It’s hard and it’s serious and you will need an attorney.
Most THC vape cases involving teens without criminal history in Montgomery County can be resolved through a program the DA’s office has instituted that will end in a dismissal. But the arrest will remain on your child’s record unless you get an attorney to handle it through the non-disclosure process.
Its proximity to more liberal urban counties, the times we currently find ourselves in with regard to acceptance of marijuana and its legalization in other states makes for a perfect storm of a disaster of expectations if you are charged with it here.
So, if you or a friend or your child is charged with Marijuana or a THC vape pen, call GCH Lawyers. We know what to expect and how to help you. Let us be the lawyers you can trust. We are here to help. Call (936) 539-1011 to schedule a free consultation.
Author: Stella Stevens, Attorney at Law
