Texas City Adopting Cite And Release For Small Amounts Of Marijuana

If you are caught with less than 2 ounces of marijuana in El Paso, you will be given a ticket for a court date and not go to jail according to KTSM-TV

Yesterday their city council voted to implement a "Cite and Release" program that applies to Class A and B misdemeanor marijuana possession charges.

This is another city in Texas decriminalizing marijuana possession. Back in January Austin voted unanimously to fine individuals caught with under 2 ounces of marijuana instead of arresting them.

Reportedly, officials from El Paso stated small level marijuana arrests "drain" their resources.

Under state law, it's still illegal to use or possess marijuana. However, a law passed last year differentiates hemp from marijuana. Back in January, the Texas Tribune reported that since the law's passage, prosecutors have dropped low-level pot cases. Police agencies still testing for the presence of THC in some cases are having to turn to expensive private labs, and more effective tests that are easier to administer may still not be worth the time and money spent.

Also back in January, a Florida man was jailed in Texas for about a month after DPS troopers stopped him and seized the hemp he was hauling for work. Industrial hemp is legal in Texas, and an unidentified Killeen farmer recently became the first person licensed to grow it in our state.

Also covered under the legislation legalizing hemp was CBD, which now comes in a number of products including vape juice, oils, and edibles.