Bexar County, Tx., District Attorney Joe Gonzales said his office no longer will prosecute some marijuana cases while he grapples with the unintended consequences of a new state law that legalized hemp, reports the San Antonio Express-News. The law draws a line between marijuana and hemp, both of which come from the same plant. It inadvertently made prosecuting marijuana possession cases more difficult, time consuming and costly. To tell the two apart, district attorneys will need to rely on more technically advanced testing equipment that’s not readily available. Gonzales was joined by at least four other Texas prosecutors, who said they will not press charges for possession of small amounts of marijuana, at least not until the testing problem is resolved.
Legislators this year approved a bill that made industrial hemp legal on June 10 and ushered in a new definition of what’s pot and what’s hemp. Marijuana is now defined as having more than 0.3% THC — the psychoactive ingredient that gives users a high — and remains illegal. Anything under that amount is hemp and now legal. The distinction follows a definition adopted in last year’s federal farm bill. The new law is good news for the hemp industry and aspiring farmers who want to cash in, but it failed to anticipate the problem of crime labs — including the Texas Department of Public Safety’s — lacking the pricey equipment needed to determine THC levels. The machinery could cost upwards of $300,000, says Houston Forensic Science Center president Dr. Peter Stout. Gonzales adopted a new cite-and-release policy. Starting this week, law enforcement officers in San Antonio and Bexar County can cite — rather than arrest — people accused of some misdemeanors, including possession of less than four ounces of marijuana. The citation is similar to a traffic ticket.