The Texas Department of Public Safety will be able to test oil and plant-based products to determine whether they are legal hemp or marijuana starting in March, according to a North Texas police chief.
New technology to test for THC in plant and oil-based products will be available for law enforcement as early as March.
Texas DPS partnered with Sam Houston State University in Huntsville to develop crime lab testing equipment that measures the level of THC in products, said Allen police Chief Brian Harvey, who is a regional director of the Texas Police Chiefs Association.
THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the psychoactive chemical in cannabis plants that gives the sensation of being high.
When the Texas Legislature passed House Bill 1325, the Hemp Farming Act, in 2019, it legalized hemp products in Texas. Those legal hemp products contain 0.3% or less of THC. Anything over that concentration is considered illegal marijuana.
Even when the state starts testing for THC in March, law enforcement will still have a dilemma.
“We don’t have any roadside field test for 0.3% THC,” Harvey said.
