Every weekday morning for the last three years, Nick Smith leaves his house at 7:15 a.m. He catches a bus that takes him to work, downtown. The ride takes twice as long as driving. But in Texas, getting caught with pot means your license is automatically suspended. And Nick, who has been arrested three times for having pot, could not drive for a long time. It's affected how he could care for his baby girl; it meant giving up his music career, and it has cost him thousands in court fees.

Marijuana has become the drug of choice for state and local police departments nationwide. While busting people with low-level possession does little to make the country safer, it does serious damage to people like Nick.