The man had told a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper that his truck contained hemp, not weed. He was released from detention after a federal crime lab tested the cargo.
marijuana
Posted in
Marijuana in Texas
Marijuana prosecutions in Texas have dropped by more than half since lawmakers legalized hemp
After Texas legalized hemp and threw marijuana prosecution into chaos last year, prosecutors filed far fewer criminal charges, police departments paid for private testing and public crime labs were struggling to catch up.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
O’Rourke’s plan to legalize marijuana includes clemency for possession sentences and grants for those who already served time
For his latest policy proposal, the Democratic presidential candidate returns to a cause he has championed since his days on the El Paso City Council.
Posted in
Marijuana in Texas
Texas DPS officers told not to arrest in low-level marijuana cases after new hemp law
A memo obtained by The Texas Tribune instructs DPS officers to cite and release suspects in misdemeanor marijuana cases “as appropriate.” Officials said the goal is to continue enforcement even though some prosecutors aren’t taking new pot cases.
Posted in
TribCast
Tribcast: Beto O’Rourke’s debate performance and the drama rocking the Texas House speaker’s office
In this edition of the TribCast, Emma talks to Patrick, Matthew, Cassi and Jolie about Beto O’Rourke’s debate performance, the accusations shaking up the Texas House speaker’s office and what Texas lawmakers really knew about how their new hemp bill would impact marijuana prosecutions.
Posted in
Marijuana in Texas
Texas was warned its hemp law would complicate marijuana prosecutions. Lawmakers didn’t listen.
Crime labs repeatedly told lawmakers and budget officials that they couldn’t distinguish between hemp and marijuana without new testing resources. The issue got almost no attention.
Posted inState Government
Analysis: For Texas lawmakers, a ballad of rope and dope
Texas lawmakers made it legal to farm hemp and, incidentally, harder to prosecute people caught with small amounts of marijuana, which is still illegal. Now they’re bickering about whether that’s the fault of the new law or of local prosecutors.
Posted in
Marijuana in Texas
How can Texas fix its marijuana problem after legalizing hemp? Forensic experts have a plan.
Prosecutors and crime lab scientists were scrambling to find a solution after a change in the state’s definition of marijuana imperiled criminal cases.
Posted in
Marijuana in Texas
Texas leaders: Hemp law did not decriminalize marijuana
A law legalizing hemp changed the definition of marijuana, causing district attorneys across the state to drop low-level possession cases and stop accepting new ones.
Posted in
Marijuana in Texas
Hemp law has most big-city prosecutors in Texas stepping back from marijuana charges. But not in El Paso.
Many prosecutors say the way Gov. Greg Abbott and lawmakers redefined marijuana requires new lab testing to prove it’s different from recently legalized hemp. The situation has created a patchwork of consequences for people caught with pot.
