April 20, also referred to as 4/20, went viral as many light up in protest to the legalization of marijuana. As it remains illegal in Texas, state laws put a woman behind bars Thursday on felony charges for possession of marijuana.
“It’s ironic for sure,” Lubbock Police Homeless Outreach Team Sergeant Steven Bergen said. “I guess just one of those days, you picked the wrong day to run a red light and so this is the consequence for it.”
Homeless Outreach Team officers out on patrol Thursday morning when a driver ran through a red light in front of them.
“The officer made a traffic stop,” Bergen said. “It was just after 8 this morning in the area of 6th and Avenue Q. He approached the vehicle and made contact with the individual inside and could smell the odor of what he believed to be marijuana coming from the vehicle.”
Police reports show 40 year old Laura Lucero was driving the vehicle. In her car, officers said found pounds of different marijuana.
“It was approximately two pounds is what it ended up being, which is a state jail felony amount,” Bergen said.
Lucero was arrested on a felony charge of possession of marijuana and possession of identifying information.
“Generally it’s not in this large amount,” Bergen said. “However, today is 4/20 which is kind of nationally known for the marijuana portion of it. So that could’ve contributed to the amount that was there, very possible for that reason.”
As a member of the Homeless Outreach Team, Bergen said they face this issue on a regular basis in the homeless community.
“It’s probably more prevalent in the synthetic marijuana that we’re coming across, more than we do any other type of narcotics,” Bergen said. “But they’re all prevalent out there as well. Because it’s a street level narcotic, so we do come across all of them but the most prevalent is synthetic marijuana that we deal with.”
