Breaking: Austin police will stop arresting or citing most people for possessing small amounts of marijuana. bit.ly/2RpIyXP
2/ Four Austin City Council members proposed the measure in response to Texas’ legalization of hemp, which threw marijuana prosecution in the state into chaos.
It passed unanimously Thursday with 9 votes. bit.ly/2RpIyXP
It passed unanimously Thursday with 9 votes. bit.ly/2RpIyXP
3/ Texas’ 2019 hemp law narrowed the legal definition of marijuana from cannabis to cannabis that contains more than 0.3% THC. bit.ly/2RpIyXP
4/ This led to numerous Texas prosecutors, including those in Austin’s Travis County, to require lab reports on THC concentration levels before pursuing misdemeanor marijuana charges. bit.ly/2RpIyXP
5/ But public labs in the state don’t yet have the technology to test for that difference. bit.ly/2RpIyXP
6/ We reported earlier this month that marijuana prosecutions in Texas have dropped by more than half since hemp was legalized in June: bit.ly/3aMG6Cm 
7/ Austin’s resolution will largely direct police to stop arresting people or issuing citations in low-level marijuana possession cases in which officers won’t be able to get lab reports to chemically distinguish between legal hemp and illegal marijuana. bit.ly/2RpIyXP
8/ It will prohibit spending city funds on testing in low-level possession cases (except in felony cases).
But it won’t prevent law enforcement officers from taking action when they believe there is an immediate threat to a person’s safety. bit.ly/2RpIyXP
But it won’t prevent law enforcement officers from taking action when they believe there is an immediate threat to a person’s safety. bit.ly/2RpIyXP
9/9 Earlier this month, lead sponsor @GregCasar said he hoped the proposal would help Austin’s citizens of color, who are disproportionately arrested or punished for violating marijuana possession laws. bit.ly/2Rmee0c
