SAN ANTONIO — A new upgrade at the Bexar County Crime Lab will help investigators distinguish between marijuana and hemp, now that the latter has been legalized in Texas.
Many law enforcement agencies can't test the difference between hemp and marijuana—a difference that manifests as a difference in THC levels. The Bexar County Commissioner's Court approved the purchase of that new equipment.
RELATED: Texas was warned its hemp law would complicate marijuana prosecutions. Lawmakers didn't listen
In the wake of the new state law, many prosecutors have stopped going forward with minor marijuana cases, including Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales. His office says that, even with the lab upgrade, they will ask that testing only focus on felony marijuana cases.