Marietta, GA Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)

Section 10-4-140, adopted by Ordinance No. 4888 on April 10, 1991 and carried into the 1978 Code as Section 10-1018, targets loitering for drug purposes rather than drug possession itself. § 16-11-36 and lists the circumstances an officer may weigh in deciding whether a person's presence manifests intent to illegally use, possess, or sell those substances: being a known illegal user or seller, or being at a location frequented by such persons, repeatedly beckoning to or stopping passersby to induce a drug transaction, and repeatedly exchanging money, objects, or written material with passersby for that purpose.

Subsection D defines a known illegal user, possessor or seller narrowly, as someone convicted of a controlled-substance offense within one year before the arrest and known to the arresting officer. The ordinance builds in a due-process check at Subsection C: no arrest may be made until the officer first gives the person a chance to explain the conduct, and no conviction can stand if the explanation given at trial turns out to be true and shows a lawful purpose. Violating Subsection A is a misdemeanor under Subsection E, punishable by a fine of not more than $500 per violation, imprisonment of not more than six months, or both. Marietta Police Department officers make the arrest, and the case is heard in Marietta Municipal Court.