Texas Court Discusses Selling E-Cigarettes to Prisoners

Today’s news, April 9: According to foreign media reports, about eight months ago, Ector County Sheriff Mike Griffis told the Ector County Commissioners Court that he believed the jail could make $1 million by selling e-cigarettes to prisoners.

Griffis plans to address the court on this topic at Tuesday’s meeting.

The agenda item, “Consider, discuss and take any necessary action to approve the sale of e-cigarettes to prisoners at no cost to the county or taxpayers; all proceeds collected will be used for the Ector County Detention Center,” is scheduled for 10 a.m. in the Commissioners Court along with other matters at the Ector County Administration Annex, Room 120, 1010 East Eighth St.

Griffis said: We see this not only as a behavioral tool, but also as a financial tool to help offset some of the taxpayer-funded programs we are required to provide for inmates in the jail. We hope to implement it within the next few weeks.

Griffis explained to the Odessa American that a pack of 50 e-cigarettes costs $3.85 per unit.

The jail plans an initial order of 1,000 units. The cost to inmates would be $14, including $1.07 in sales tax. Griffis said inmates would be allowed to purchase e-cigarettes using their commissary funds.

Griffis said inmates would only be allowed to purchase and use one e-cigarette at a time.

Griffis said inmates must return the originally purchased e-cigarette before they can buy another one. He also explained that if an e-cigarette has been tampered with, the inmate will not be allowed to buy another one.

“If it is abused, that inmate will not be eligible for another one,” Griffis said.

Griffis will also discuss with the court the issue of selling pizza to inmates at no cost to the county or taxpayers.

Although the plan and figures for allowing inmates to use e-cigarettes are more specific, Griffis said the pizza proposal is still being worked out.

“We hope that at some point we can make that happen as a fundraising mechanism, but we have not yet worked out the details of that arrangement,” he said.