MIAMI (AP) - Prosecutors in Florida’s largest county say they will stop prosecuting minor cases of marijuana cases as a result of a new state law that legalized hemp.
The Miami Herald reports there is no police crime lab in South Florida that tests for a cannabis chemical that gets users high. Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a Friday statement that authorities can’t “visually or microscopically” distinguish marijuana from hemp, which only has trace amounts of the psychoactive compound.
Miami-Dade police hope to conduct lab tests for felony cases within six months. Fernandez Rundle said proving misdemeanors of possession of 20 grams or less would be a “significant expenditure.”
Tallahassee’s state attorney also halted marijuana prosecutions after the law went into effect July 1.
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Information from: The Miami Herald, http://www.herald.com
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