Houston Forensic Science Center appoints new crime scene unit director following claims of toxic work environment
Four months after a blistering letter detailing allegations of mismanagement that launched an investigation into the Houston Forensic Science Center’s crime scene unit, the department has a new leader.
Hemp or Marijuana? Houston lab can finally tell the difference
HOUSTON The Houston Forensic Science Center has developed a chemical test that can differentiate between hemp and marijuana, making it possible for prosecutors to more easily prosecute misdemeanor marijuana cases in Texas. When a Texas law defining hemp and marijuana went into effect in June 2019, labs in Texas were not prepared to provide the evidence prosecutors needed to enforce the law. The law defined hemp as cannabis with less than 0.3 percent THC, and marijuana with above 0.3 percent THC. Hemp can smell and look like marijuana, and vice versa, said Peter Stout, President and CEO of HFSC. If you buy a CBD product or other hemp or cannabis product, you have no way of knowing whats in that, you just dont, Stout said.
New Texas hemp and CBD law could snuff out marijuana prosecutions
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Texas expects to make millions off the CBD oil boom.To make it legal, the legislature passed and Gov. Greg Abbott signed a new law creating a THC limit to tell the difference between legal hemp and illegal marijuana.Apparently the legislature didn't realize crime labs in Texas can't test THC concentrations. The bill came out of the state House's Agriculture Committee and devotes most of its effort to rules for hemp farmers -- not police officers and prosecutors.Already, hundreds of marijuana cases were dismissed in Fort Worth. Last year, statewide figures show Texas district attorneys prosecuted more than 69,743 misdemeanor marijuana possession cases. "As scientists tried to comply with the new law, the Houston lab stopped testing marijuana for a week in June.
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