Austin to consider stopping arrests, tickets in low-level marijuana cases after hemp law
Four progressive members of the City Council are pushing the proposal, which needs two more votes to pass. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/d1c8ec5fe260431a46030a8435ef8560/Marijuana%20Plastic%20Bag%20IS%20TT.jpg)
-
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto -
He spent a month in Texas jail accused of hauling 3,350 pounds of marijuana. But lab results say it was legal hemp.
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. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/b89793f68280d411a15335966037dea8/DPS%203000%20Hemp%20TT.jpg)
![The Texas Department of Public Safety claimed last month that it seized more than 3,000 pounds of marijuana during a traffic stop in Carson County. Lab results indicate the load was legal hemp.]()
Credit: Texas Department of Public Safety -
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. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/cba0d61a3e81ba55b1893405d5854eda/Marijuana%20Hemp%20iStock%20TT.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Getty Images/iStock -
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. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/f962d3b56303f24c3041d5b0e0f505b6/02%20Beto%20Houston%20MS%20TT.jpg)
![Beto O'Rourke speaks at Texas Southern University in Houston during his Presidential Campaign kick off on March 30, 2019.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
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. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/2f717e4d0c0338064a3736352664e63f/Police%20Officer%20State%20Trooper%20SK%20TT.jpg)
![State Troopers stop civilian on Congress Ave. in Austin, TX on Feb. 12, 2016.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
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. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/14697ad88cfdd847a0983df5405db922/TribCast%207_31_19%20JF%20TT.jpg)
![House Speaker Dennis Bonnen adjourns sine die from the dais on May 27, 2019.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa/The Texas Tribune -
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. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/6047324ca37432dea4966e4d8e1a6f45/03_Marijuana_Plants_Texas_MKC_TT.jpg)
![Robert Russin a manager at Compassionate Cultivation, a home-grown medical cannabis company serving patients throughout Texas]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
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. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/77cc6aa32e2da2ae73f88da2d10f69d2/Cannabis_sativa_plant_HEMP.JPG)
![Industrial hemp plant (Cannabis sativa).]()
Credit: Chmee2/Creative Commons -
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. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/cbc045708a9b81c4b0847418dcacf53b/Marijuana%20plants%20iStock%20TT.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto -
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. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/27f0f699efb34e7c006d9e5914855f90/Marijuana%20iStock%20TT.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto/skodonnell -
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. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/4e40c3593fd9ccfe307fd08d6958bd49/Marijuana%20plant%20iStock%20TT.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto -
This year, Texas passed a law legalizing hemp. It also has prosecutors dropping hundreds of marijuana cases.
The new law changed the definition of marijuana, and prosecutors and crime labs say they don't have the resources to test if a substance is legal hemp or marijuana. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/1d0418ea0f13f98f643600f4984b73ee/02_Marijuana_Plants_Texas_MKC_TT.jpg)
![Plants of marijuana names after Sen. Kevin Eltife who authored a bil in 2015l which would legalize oils containing cannabidiol found in marijuana known to treat epilepsy and other chronic medical conditions at Compassionate Cultivation, a home-grown medical cannabis company in Austin, Texas that serves patients throughout Texas on January 19, 2017]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Many marijuana and pro-LGBTQ bills died this legislative session. Expect to see them back in 2021.
While lawmakers in the 86th Texas Legislature advanced measures on some controversial issues, they know it often takes several sessions to pass bills and say they intend to refile them next time. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/082623ab54822a544d90f8a63d4b6795/UnderDome-13-Lead-TTSite.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr. / The Texas Tribune -
The Texas Republican Party platform supports some marijuana expansions. So why doesn’t Dan Patrick?
Earlier this month, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said a bill that decriminalizes possession of small amounts of marijuana was "dead on arrival" in the Senate. But his party's platform supports marijuana decriminalization. So what gives? Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/0d205c85e8e16d8aa1a068c0c612cb2b/Texas%20Republican%20Convention%20BD%20TT.jpg)
![The Texas Republican Convention at the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center in San Antonio. Bob Parks salutes the flag from the front row on June 14, 2018.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas expansion of medical cannabis nears finish line after Senate approval
If the House approves changes made by the upper chamber, the bill will head to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/c44f6d3d8c494ae82b835c6a051dfcaa/Medical%20Cannabis%20Marijuana%20IS%20TT.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Getty Images/Patrick Morrissey -
Analysis: Tinkering with the 2020 elections in the Texas Legislature
The power of incumbency is more than raising money for campaigns and having a well-known political name. Changing the state's election laws — or even debating issues that resonate strongly with voters — can set the rules and frame the arguments for the next election cycle. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/3a3e9f255c71bc4a169ccd72b532b26e/Midterm_Election_late_polling_place_1_MS_TT.jpg)
![Voter wait in line outside Marshall Middle School, one of several polling places in Houston being kept open an hour longer after polls opened late with issues including election machine technical problems that caused delays in voting.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Texas medical marijuana expansion gains steam in Senate, even after previous stonewalling
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has expressed wariness to expanding the Compassionate Use Program, but the bill's Senate sponsor said Patrick helped craft the version that cleared a key hurdle Friday. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/d98b7161558f4fe209ba3b9f74e2f451/13%20Senator%20Watson%20Campbell%20MG.jpg)
![State Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braufels, speaks with State Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, shortly after he received the gavel as Senate President Pro Tempore on Jan. 9, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas farmers could begin growing hemp under legislation gaining steam in both chambers
House Bill 1325 would legalize hemp and hemp-derived extracts like CBD oil as long as they contain no more than 0.3% of tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive element in marijuana known as THC. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/fabd817520ce2d8797e8c608ca187f05/01%20Charles%20Perry%20Senate%20Floor%20JF%20TT.jpg)
![State Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, on the Senate floor on May 15, 2019.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa/The Texas Tribune -
Texas House passes second, more limited bill expanding access to medical cannabis
It was the second time in as many days that the lower chamber moved to increase which medical conditions allow Texans to use CBD oil for treatment. But both bills face an uphill battle in the Senate. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/03a7e5c49b144fff4d26db2e12488c5d/0002_Stephanie_Klick_Juan_Figueroa_May_5_TT.jpg)
![State Rep. Stephanie Klick, R-Fort Worth, on the House floor on May 6, 2019.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa/The Texas Tribune -
Texas House passes bill to vastly expand access to medical cannabis
The bill by state Rep. Eddie Lucio III, D-Brownsville, is one of two that aim to expand the scope of the narrow Compassionate Use Act and have gained traction this legislative session. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/bebe302a7d4c10de351ad1c378a75b27/08_Marijuana_Plants_Texas_MKC_TT.jpg)
![Michael Rubin, Director at Compassionate Cultivation, tends to home-grown medical cannabis in Austin that serves patients throughout Texas, on January 19, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune