Houston Chronicle by Keri Blakinger July 2, 2019
Harris County DA to stop accepting low-level pot charges after state law complicates testing
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Tuesday that her office will no longer accept criminal charges for misdemeanor amounts of marijuana in light of a new state law that legalized hemp and inadvertently complicated evidence testing in cannabis cases.
During Texas Legislature’s 2019 session, lawmakers gave a green light to hemp - which comes from the same plant that yields marijuana - with House Bill 1325. The new measure took effect immediately, ushering in a new definition of what’s pot and what’s not.
Now, anything with more than .3 percent THC is considered marijuana and still illegal, while anything under that is deemed legal hemp. That’s a boon for would-be hemp farmers, but it presents problems for crime labs - like the Houston Forensic Science Center - that lack the pricey equipment needed to draw that distinction.
More:
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Harris-County-DA-to-stop-accepting-low-level-pot-14067016.php
