Texas DPS Officers Told Not To Arrest Low Level Marijuana Cases

There seems to be a lot of confusion in Texas from law enforcement on how to handle marijuana and hemp after state lawmakers legalized hemp this year. Seems to me that had they just LEGALIZED POT altogether there wouldn't be any confusion but yet here we are.

According to KXAN, an interoffice memo sent out by the Texas Department of Public Safety obtained by Texas Tribune, DPS officers have been instructed to issue a citation for people with a misdemeanor amount of the suspected drug, less than 4 ounces in possession cases, when possible. The "directive" has been in effect since July 10th and even if you are issued a citation, you could still face the same misdemeanor charges if convicted, a year in jail and a fine up to $4,000.

Ever since the passing of House Bill 1325, legalizing hemp, prosecutors across the state have been dropping charges or putting cases on hold while they continue to try to figure out how to differentiate between what counts as "hemp" and what counts as "marijuana".

That difficulty has led prosecutors across the state to drop hundreds of low-level marijuana cases and stop accepting new ones, since lab testing to differentiate between now-legal hemp and illegal marijuana is not currently available in government crime labs. - via KXAN

But don't think you're in the clear folks. The DPS directive does state the following:

Under Texas law, citations in lieu of arrest are only allowed if the suspected crime happens in the same county where the person lives. Marijuana found during traffic stops outside of a suspect’s home county along Texas highways, where DPS troopers often patrol, would still result in arrests.- via KXAN

So keep your "weed" at home or just demand that Texas legislators finally LEGALIZE the herb so we can put an end to all this confusion.