Chuck Schumer calls Top Cannabis Execs to talk Hemp Investment After Canopy Shakeup

The new law changed the definition of marijuana, and prosecutors and crime laboratories say they do not have the resources to test whether a drug is legal hemp or marijuana.

By Jolie McCullough and Alex Samuels, The Texas Tribune

Due to a new state law, Texas prosecutors have lost hundreds of low-level marijuana charges and have suggested they will not pursue new ones without further testing .

But the law did not decriminalize small amounts of marijuana for personal consumption. It legalized hemp and hemp-derived products, such as CBD oil.

An unintended side effect of the law is that it has made it difficult for law enforcement to tell whether a drug is marijuana or hemp, according to prosecutors. Among other things, House Bill 1[ads1]325 has changed the definition of marijuana from certain parts of the cannabis plant to those parts that contain a higher level of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient of marijuana that produces high. There is a difference many district attorneys, the state prosecutor's association and crime labs say they do not have the resources to detect, weakening marijuana cases where defendants can claim that the drug is instead hemp.

"The distinction between marijuana and hemp requires evidence of the THC concentration of a particular product or band, and at present, this evidence can only come from a laboratory capable of determining the type of potency – a category that apparently excludes them. Most, if not all, of the crime labs in Texas right now, say a lawyer released by the Texas District and County Attorney Association last month.

Someone involved in hemp law has the opposite, that there is already available equipment to test suspects drugs, although not in most criminal laboratories.

Nevertheless, state-run public prosecutors and the political spectrum – from Harris to the Tarrant counties – have rejected hundreds of ongoing misdemeanor marijuana charges since the law was signed by Republican government Greg Abbott and immediately came into force on June 10. They have also signaled that they will not pursue any new charges without being questioned tea is a substance to indicate if there is more than .3% of THC, the now legal limit to distinguish between hemp and marijuana.

"To follow the law that is now passed by the Texas legislature and government office, jurisdictions … will not accept criminal charges for Misdemeanor Marijuana possession of Marijuana (4 oz. And below) without a laboratory test result showing that the evidence seized has THC concentration of over .3%, "wrote district lawyers from Harris, Fort Bend, Bexar and Nueces counties in a new joint policy released Wednesday morning.

# BREAKING District attorneys in four Texas counties – Bexar, Harris, Fort Bend and Nueces – just announced a common policy to stop accepting charges on mischief. marijuana cases in the light of legislative snafu who are complicated drug testing. Here is the policy: pic.twitter.com/8p2zQydL45

– Keri Blakinger (@keribla) July 3, 2019

Tarrant County's District Attorney's Office has previously issued a similar statement, and since last month has dismissed 234 low-level marijuana cases. Harris is rejecting 26, according to a spokesman. The counties have said they will still pursue felony marijuana cases and say they have the ability to refile and later pursue charges in marijuana arrests if testing resources become available.

For now it is unclear when it may be, and until a process is in place, the prosecutors will "have all these marijuana cases where someone can argue for hemp," says Lisa Pittman, a lawyer for the cannabis law.

"They just have to write those cases," she said.

A criminal laboratory researcher said that even though he is receiving new forensic testing equipment right away, there is still a month-long accreditation to use the tested drug certificate in court.

Peter Stout, chief executive officer and president of the crime lab used at the Houston Police Department, said the law came into force on June 10, all that was needed to identify something that marijuana was a quick test to check for the presence of cannabinoids in things like a plant, gummy or vape pen oil. Deciding how much, if any, THC is present is much more complicated, he said, and he can't do it now.

"The plant is one thing," he said. "All these edibles and infused products are a completely different thing, and I don't know what we are doing about it."

Testing can be done, says Stout, but equipment to test forensic quality of these product types to determine whether it is a controlled substance under state criminal definitions – costs between $ 300,000 and $ 500,000. He estimated that more than 20 laboratories would need such equipment to cover the state, and each would have to go through the accreditation process.

"People can adhere to the law if they get the tools to do it, it's just going to cost time and money," says Shannon Edmonds, director of government relations with the prosecutor association.

But the Republican Senate sponsor of the hemp legislation, state Sen Charles Perry of Lubbock argued that there is already sufficient technology available for counties needing it to test suspected marijuana Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson told Fort Worth Star Telegram last month, she believed her office had found two laboratories "

" Although capacity may not be there yet to receive rapid laboratory results, there are laboratories ready to receive and test products today, Perry told the Texas Tribune. "We have daily conversations with law enforcement, prosecutors and hemp stakeholders to solve and resolve any concerns that exist as capacity captures."

He added that in 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized hemp containing no more than 0.3% THC at federal level, at least hemp and hemp products would have crossed state lines – even without legislative action.

"Before Texas Hemp Bill passed, hemp-derived products could come into our state and be bought and sold with little oversight," Perry says. "In fact, in 2018, the agricultural bill prohibits states from limiting the transport of hemp by less than 0 , 3% THC. With the passing of Texas Hemp Bill, we now have proper regulations to protect Texas consumers at every turn. "

Government law, which does not require funding to buy crime laboratories, unanimously sailed the legislature because of federal law. Due to the overwhelming support, when Abbott signed the bill on June 10, it immediately started – something that is part of the problem, according to prosecutors.

"This new law came into force immediately without the usual grace period during which the procedures and regulations are adopted and introduced to support legislative changes," said Tarrant County District Attorney's Office in a statement.

Stout said he did not know about the changed marijuana definition in the bill until it was too late to testify, since the bill went through agricultural committees, not those handling criminal cases. Abbott's office did not respond to a request for Comment on this story

Krimper among several district attorneys comes months after lawmakers rejected a bill by the state of Joe Moody, D-El Paso, who would have reduced the penalty for Texans found to have small amounts of marijuana. But prosecutors have noted that the fallen cases and policy change are not decriminalized.

Tarrant County's 234 redundancies can be refilled within two years if laboratory results can be produced, according to a spokesman. And Harris County continues its program of marijuana discharges, causing them to suspect that they have small amounts of marijuana to complete a four class rather than being arrested. If people decide not to take the class, they can "wait and see if laboratories will be certified."

But in the meantime, at least in some parts of the state, it seems that some marijuana beliefs have been placed in limbo.

"You may have to put your marijuana cases at the same time as" waiting for laboratory results "shelf like your crime DNA cases and exposing them to the labs can provide the necessary evidence for prosecution," the Bar Association said. [19659033] This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune.

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