“But ironically, even if it had passed, we would still have this huge problem we have now because you still have to send that small amount off for testing, which is outrageously expensive and takes a super long time.”

Last year, it cost McLennan County about $3.5 million to jail those suspected of misdemeanor marijuana possession, according to McLennan County records. That figure includes some who might have been arrested on other charges, also, but county officials were unable to separate the arrests and calculate the days each arrested individual spent in jail.

The $3.5 million is based on an average of the cost per day of housing an inmate in the county jail and in the Jack Harwell Detention Center, operated by LaSalle Corrections. LaSalle charges the county $65.39 per day to house an inmate, McLennan County Auditor Frances Bartlett said. But she added that the county jail daily cost is not as clear because it is calculated by dividing all jail-related costs for the 2018 fiscal year by the number of days inmates were held in the jail. That number is $63.06 per inmate per day.

Waco Assistant Police Chief Mark Norcross said Johnson and Barnes have discussed the new state law with local law enforcement, so Johnson’s letter was expected.