Houston Law Enforcement Can Now Differentiate Between Hemp and Marijuana

Since the passage of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, a.k.a. the 2018 Farm Bill, there has been a legal distinction between hemp and marijuana and hemp was made legal.

The 2018 Farm Bill defined hemp as any part of the Cannabis sativa L plant, including all derivatives and extracts such as cannabidiol (CBD), provided that the plant contains less than 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). That meant that any Cannabis sativa L plant or derivative from such a plant with a higher THC level was marijuana, which remains a Schedule I substance.

This caused issues for Houston, Texas law enforcement, as the testing to determine the difference between the two was too costly, leading them to “simply stop prosecuting misdemeanor marijuana cases, as KPRC 2 reports.

Now that the cannabinoid testing required to prosecute is no longer out of reach, it is likely that Houston will see an uptick in the enforcement and prosecution of marijuana-related crimes.