Harris County DA to stop accepting low-level pot charges after state law complicates testing

Texas’ small 2020 crop is attributed to a slump in prices as a result of overproduction in other states in 2019. Texas’ small 2020 crop is attributed to a slump in prices as a result of overproduction in other states in 2019. Photo: Jason Fochtman, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer Photo: Jason Fochtman, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Harris County DA to stop accepting low-level pot charges after state law complicates testing 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

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.

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It’s also problem for prosecutors, who won’t have the lab testing they now need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt whether a plant is legal hemp or illicit weed.

“In order to follow the law as now enacted by the Texas Legislature and the Office of the Governor, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office will not accept criminal charges for misdemeanor possession of marijuana without a lab test result proving that the evidence seized has a THC concentration of over .3%,” the district attorney’s office said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.

“Felony marijuana charges will be evaluated on a case by case basis by our office. In the proper instances, such charges may be taken while lab test results are pending.”

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In Harris County, most misdemeanor marijuana cases already qualified for a diversion program that allowed alleged pot possessors to avoid any arrest, charges or court appearances if they agreed to take a four-hour drug education class.

The news release didn’t clarify whether would-be arrestees will still be asked to take the class, and it’s not clear what the decision to stop seeking new charges means for cases already filed since the law took effect on June 10.

READ MORE ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: District attorneys scrambling to respond to clumsy legislative action

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