And Nebraska currently has no crime labs that can discern between the legal and illegal weed, and it might be months before the labs have that ability.

One leading prosecutor, Lancaster County Attorney Pat Condon, said his office is no longer prosecuting cases involving small amounts of marijuana or marijuana residue because of the cost of obtaining out-of-state tests and bringing in lab technicians to testify at a trial.

In Ohio, Florida and Texas, marijuana cases have been dismissed or deferred because those states currently lack labs that can perform tests to discern between legal hemp and illegal marijuana.

Not all prosecutors agree with Condon’s approach, though all agree that it is a problem. Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine, for instance, said his office is pursuing prosecutions via a different law that requires those transporting or possessing hemp to prove, with paperwork, that’s what it is.

Gage County Attorney Roger Moore said he’s still prosecuting misdemeanor pot cases, but he’s hoping the defendant will be ordered to pay the cost of the testing and transporting a witness from an out-of-state lab, which Condon estimated at $1,500 to $2,000.