The Palm Beach County Commission passed an ordinance Tuesday that gives deputies the option of citations in lieu of arresting those caught with marijuana.

Instead of an arrest, anyone with under 20 grams of marijuana may be hit with a $100 citation, depending on the discretion of the officer involved.

Changes should take place by the end of the year. Anyone who cannot afford to pay the fine can do 10 hours of community service. Citations can be issued no more than two times, and repeat offenders will be subject to arrest.

Many citizens of color have been arrested for low-level drug cases in decades past, and have seen their lives adversely affected for minor cases.

Arrests for drug possession come at a high cost. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, marijuana possession arrests cost America 3.6 billion dollars in 2010.

They also found that on average, a Black person is 3.73 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than a white person.

Broward County voted to relax its marijuana possession laws in November. There, citations will range from $100 to $500 and can be handed out a maximum of three times. To date, twenty states and the nation’s capital have decriminalized marijuana possession.

Wesley Wright is the business manager of the University Press and one of its senior reporters. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter.