Wichita, Kansas, Alters Handling of Drug Cases; Some Felonies Now Misdemeanors

By Brian Cole

Published on January 10, 2007

The change of policy on the part of the Wichita police is meant to free up resources to pursue more serious drug offenses. Individuals caught with less than a quarter-gram of meth or cocaine now receive a misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia charge instead of a felony drug charge.

Deputy Police Chief Tom Stolz said that if the city decided to prosecute small drug crimes as felonies, there would be so many felony charges that it would potentially clog the District Court System.

According to Deputy District Attorney Kim Parker, those arrested for small amounts of drugs may still be prosecuted if they have prior criminal records or if they are known gang members who are deemed a danger to the community.

Comment on this article →