Fort Worth Weekly By Edward Brown First-time marijuana offenses may soon be met with tickets instead of jail time, but defendants in Tarrant County will still deal with crushing court costs for possessing a plant that has been decriminalized in many states. Photo courtesy of iStock. Tarrant County officials recently announced that local law enforcement can participate in a program that was authorized in 2007 by state lawmakers. Known as cite and release, the program allows peace officers to issue citations for low-level offenses that would normally require processing in Tarrant County Jail, which gained statewide attention for more than 20 jail population deaths last year.