Breaking: Marijuana accidentally made legal in Texas

[The Annoyed Man]

Marijuana DUI and Roadside Testing

https://www.chadbanklaw.com/marijuana-d ... e-testing/

Exactly what I was talking about in my previous post.

[philip964]

https://www.click2houston.com/news/crim ... lf-freeway

228 pounds of pot. 70 pounds of THC gummies found during traffic stop on Gulf freeway.

I guess they will spend the $400 for the outside testing.

Interesting no penalties for personal use amounts will increase pressure on suppliers like this.

[WildBill]

https://www.click2houston.com/news/crim ... lf-freeway

228 pounds of pot. 70 pounds of THC gummies found during traffic stop on Gulf freeway.

I guess they will spend the $400 for the outside testing.

Interesting no penalties for personal use amounts will increase pressure on suppliers like this.

I'd be interested in seeing the test results for the gummies to see if they are really THC.
It seems that who ever makes these would have to run tests of their ingredients to get the proper strength.

[philip964]

https://www.click2houston.com/news/crim ... lf-freeway

228 pounds of pot. 70 pounds of THC gummies found during traffic stop on Gulf freeway.

I guess they will spend the $400 for the outside testing.

Interesting no penalties for personal use amounts will increase pressure on suppliers like this.

I'd be interested in seeing the test results for the gummies to see if they are really THC.
It seems that who ever makes these would have to run tests of their ingredients to get the proper strength.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeadams/ ... ck-market/

The gummies could have anything in them including fentanyl.

Apparently this is a problem, there is no quality control on illegal drugs. Thus with this hemp change we may see more use of Pot with no quality controls, so accidental overdoses or other issues could occur.

[Grayling813]

Apparently this is a problem, there is no quality control on illegal drugs. Thus with this hemp change we may see more use of Pot with no quality controls, so accidental overdoses or other issues could occur.

Where do you buy your pot with quality controls? Asking for a friend....

[K.Mooneyham]

There isn't much discussion about this, because of the politics, but it is well known, and increasingly a matter of concern for DOC Mental Health, and family counselors. Pot ain't all mellow & sweet:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog ... t-behavior

SHH, you're not supposed to say that. Remember, that substance is a "natural herb", etc, and thus is "perfect in every way". No harm can ever come from it, so they say, and it cures every disease. You'll get attacked and they'll throw that old movie "Reefer Madness" at you to silence you, or say how safe it is compared to alcohol.

Never mind that we are no longer talking about a natural plant with a small amount of THC, which was probably the plant's natural defense against herbivores and/or insects. The marijuana today is NOT like the pot from the 60s and 70s. The "weed" these days has been horticultured to have very high levels of THC because that's what gets people stoned, and makes more money for dealers.

Personally, I'd be more inclined to agree with TAM. We're not going to stop people from smoking it, but I sure do NOT want anyone behind the wheel of a vehicle while they are stoned, and if they do, I want them to be in big trouble, just like those who drink and drive.

[RoyGBiv]

First... This is EXCELLENT news. People should be able to take advantage of emerging treatments that use CBD (cannabadiol) without fear of prosecution, if they choose to do so. 0.3% (or less) has been the standard elsewhere for max allowable THC in CBD, so it's good that we use the same standard here.

Prior to this law, as has been described in this thread, ANY amount of THC in a sample would require that the entire weight of the item be counted as "illegal THC". So a 4 ounce bottle of CBD would be counted as 4 ounces of illegal substance (felony) even though that CBD, if less than 0.3% THC, would have zero psychoactive effects. Zero.

I LOL'd at this bit....

Stout said it can cost between $500,000 and $600,000 for a lab to purchase the equipment needed to test concentration levels. He said it then takes between nine and 12 months of validation and accreditation before a lab is certified to test for THC concentration levels.

Back in the day I ran a drugs of abuse testing facility. Unless costs have skyrocketed (they haven't), one set of equipment to "determine" (not "test") concentration of THC in a sample should cost less than $100,000 (~75K plus supplies). Except maybe if you're a government purchasing entity. LOL.

ETA: https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/86R/b ... 01325F.htm
The language pertaining to Consumable Hemp is down near the bottom.

[narcissist]

Quote: hemp products in Texas
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said that possession of marijuana cases that involved 4 oz. of pot and under would not be prosecuted without a lab test result showing that the evidence has a tetrahydrocannabinol concentration, or THC, of more than 0.3%.quote:

First off any actrul Marijuana or the flower/bud of the plant is what you smoke not the hemp/stems. Also even cheap Mexico weed has at least a THC level of 3-4% so this doesn't really matter. I'm sure police officers know this and will still either arrest you or some places have a new policy of giving a ticket then you get a court date but it's still a class b misdemeanor. If this matters please explain how? I'm all for legalization seen family members with cancer slowly/painfully die with little doses of pain meds that didn't even help, the weed helped them 100xs better. The legal weed/thc prescription has a cap of 0.5% for people with cancer ect. But the kind they need has around 25-30% Id like to hear a cops opinion about this if possible.

[Redneck_Buddha]

Quote: hemp products in Texas
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said that possession of marijuana cases that involved 4 oz. of pot and under would not be prosecuted without a lab test result showing that the evidence has a tetrahydrocannabinol concentration, or THC, of more than 0.3%.quote:

Dallas says "hold my beer". Possession of 4 oz. or less is actually now a civil offense.

[RoyGBiv]

I LOL'd at this bit....

Stout said it can cost between $500,000 and $600,000 for a lab to purchase the equipment needed to test concentration levels. He said it then takes between nine and 12 months of validation and accreditation before a lab is certified to test for THC concentration levels.

Back in the day I ran a drugs of abuse testing facility. Unless costs have skyrocketed (they haven't), one set of equipment to "determine" (not "test") concentration of THC in a sample should cost less than $100,000 (~75K plus supplies). Except maybe if you're a government purchasing entity. LOL.

ETA: https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/86R/b ... 01325F.htm
The language pertaining to Consumable Hemp is down near the bottom.

NIDA or SAMHSA certified? Medico-legal certification is substantially different than simply presence/absence standards.

NIDA.

You can buy an Agilent GC/MS for about $75k, last time I checked.

I especially enjoyed buying material to make standards. <$10 for 50 grams of pure cocaine. From a catalog, like buying from Sears.
Of course you needed a license for it... but... still was amusing.

[WildBill]

One of the mistakes that Colorado made in implementing their new weed law was in failing to first develop a blood testing system or roadside sobriety tester like a breathalyzer that would return quick and usable results for THC levels in impaired motorists.

Much easier said than done. Alcohol is a fairly simple chemical to test, while THC is much more complex. In addition, THC stays in the blood stream for days or weeks, while the impairment lasts for only hours.
They also stated that there wasn't enough data to see if there is a tread that correlated legalization of marijuana with traffic deaths. See link https://www.denverpost.com/2017/08/25/c ... atalities/

Getting off topic a little, a couple years ago in Harris County there was a lab that HPD used to calibrate their alcohol breathalyzers. Periodic calibration is required for all measuring devices to verify their accuracy.
It turns out that the contractor took the testers to their office, filled out some paperwork, and put calibration stickers on the instruments without testing them. The DA had to go back and dismiss the cases of every
DUI case that used the testers as evidence.

It's a complicated subject, in time, there will be some methods to improve the current process.

[WildBill]

I LOL'd at this bit....

Stout said it can cost between $500,000 and $600,000 for a lab to purchase the equipment needed to test concentration levels. He said it then takes between nine and 12 months of validation and accreditation before a lab is certified to test for THC concentration levels.

Back in the day I ran a drugs of abuse testing facility. Unless costs have skyrocketed (they haven't), one set of equipment to "determine" (not "test") concentration of THC in a sample should cost less than $100,000 (~75K plus supplies). Except maybe if you're a government purchasing entity. LOL.

ETA: https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/86R/b ... 01325F.htm
The language pertaining to Consumable Hemp is down near the bottom.

NIDA or SAMHSA certified? Medico-legal certification is substantially different than simply presence/absence standards.

NIDA.

You can buy an Agilent GC/MS for about $75k, last time I checked.

I especially enjoyed buying material to make standards. <$10 for 50 grams of pure cocaine. From a catalog, like buying from Sears.
Of course you needed a license for it... but... still was amusing.

In addition to analytical instruments, there is a lot of infrastructure required to certify and maintain the lab.
I can believe an initial cost of $500K for setting up the lab. Also you need a trained staff to manage the lab, chemists,
technicians, computers, etc. That could easily cost $400K per year.

[jb2012]

https://www.click2houston.com/news/crim ... lf-freeway

228 pounds of pot. 70 pounds of THC gummies found during traffic stop on Gulf freeway.

I guess they will spend the $400 for the outside testing.

Interesting no penalties for personal use amounts will increase pressure on suppliers like this.

I'd be interested in seeing the test results for the gummies to see if they are really THC.
It seems that who ever makes these would have to run tests of their ingredients to get the proper strength.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeadams/ ... ck-market/

The gummies could have anything in them including fentanyl.

Apparently this is a problem, there is no quality control on illegal drugs. Thus with this hemp change we may see more use of Pot with no quality controls, so accidental overdoses or other issues could occur.

There is no such thing as a marijuana “overdose”.