Texas Men Face Felony Drug Charges For Edibles
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Three Texas Black men were arrested and charged with felony drug possession in Clay County, Texas after police accused the men of having edibles in their car during a traffic stop.
According to ABC 13 the men, Dandre and Dante Burroughs, and their roommate, Samuel Serrano-Griffiths, were driving home from Colorado after celebrating one of the boy’s 21st birthday when Clay County officers stopped them for speeding and making an unsafe lane change.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office has not released the exact amount of drugs they claim to have found in the vehicle, but the boys are each being held on a $50,000 bond.
Raquel Burroughs, Dante and Dandre’s mom told ABC 13 that she believes the boys are good people and the punishment far outweighs the crime.
The brothers and their roommate face drug charges all because of what they’re accused of bringing back with them after a road trip to Colorado. https://t.co/osou81764X
— ABC13 Houston (@abc13houston) April 28, 2022
“I was shocked and very upset,” Burroughs told ABC 13.
“They work. They are hard workers. They are just really good kids. Even though they are my kids, I am not just saying that, I have been told that many times, how respectful they are.”
Burroughs also raised her concerns about Texas laws regarding marijuana arrests and charges.
“In one place, it’s legal for marijuana. Texas is supposedly decriminalizing marijuana, but yet, they are going to put my kids in jail and hold them and give them a felony record. It doesn’t add up,” she told ABC 13.
In Texas, recreational use of marijuana is still illegal and punishment is solely based on the amount in your possession.
Possession of between 2 and 4 ounces is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment of up to 1 year and a fine not to exceed $4,000. But anything above 4 ounces is a felony and comes with mandatory sentencing.
Depending on the amount, it can have anywhere between a mandatory minimum sentence of 180 days and a mandatory maximum sentence of 99 years. Fines could also range from $10,000-$50,000.
In 2019 Texas passed a law that decriminalized hemp, a plant that is also part of the cannabis family. The law led to a drastic cut in the number of Marijuana prosecutions over the next year.
Although the laws seem to be loosening a bit, lives are still being greatly affected.
Raquel Burroughs has hired a lawyer for the boys and hopes to get them home through a bail bondsman, but their fight to stay out of prison and keep their records clean is just beginning.
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