Change in Marijuana Law Causes Confusion
The Texas legislature attempted to do something good for a change. They made some hemp products legal. Hemp is still the cannabis plant but it is a slightly different plant. The main difference being that it has a lower amount of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) which is the substance that makes people high. Hemp is used extensively in other countries for it’s fiber content and many other qualities. Clothes, coffee, power bars and so much more can be made from hemp.
The United States has been far behind other countries in using this product due to it’s extremely close ties to marijuana. The Texas Legislature has been trying to legalize medical marijuana they were blocked by Lt. Governor Dan Patrick. They were successful in passing House Bill 1325 which is having an unanticipated side-effect. What HB 1325 did was change the definition of marijuana to only the parts of the plant that have more than 0.3% THC. This new law went into effect on June 10th.
While this was an excellent way to approach the issue it did cause some problems. Law enforcement and prosecutors don’t have the resources to be able to determine the difference in THC levels. I have no doubt there are laboratories out there that can do it but can you imagine the cost of having to send every marijuana case to a lab for testing rather than being able to use a simple kit?
Sure some smart person somewhere will eventually come up with a kit that will allow for the testing of the different levels of THC but until then, prosecutors are abandoning hundreds of marijuana cases due to their inability to tell if the plant seized is marijuana or hemp. Since we, at this website, believe that marijuana should be legalized, we think this is a good mistake. Just say it’s hemp. Let the law figure it out from there. Hopefully soon, we’ll wise up and take it off the Schedule 1 drug list.
Until then, enjoy Texas doing something right for a change even if it was done accidentally.
For more information click here to read the Texas Tribune article and don’t forget to donate so they can continue doing the excellent work they do.