After legalization in Colorado, prosecutions for marijuana possession have plummeted. The state has seen a dramatic reduction in the number of people charged with marijuana offenses, and it’s likely to continue as more states legalize cannabis.
The charges for getting caught with wax are a direct result of the legalization of marijuana. The number of people being charged has plummeted since hemp was legalized in many states.
More than six months after Texas legalized hemp, the number of marijuana prosecution cases dropped significantly, with prosecutors bringing fewer criminal charges and police agencies having to rely on private laboratories to establish unlawful marijuana possession.
The number of misdemeanor marijuana possession charges in Texas has fallen almost two-thirds since Gov. Greg Abbott signed hemp legalization legislation in early June, concentrating on agricultural practices and regulations.
According to the Texas Tribune, prosecutors in Texas filed approximately 5,900 new misdemeanor marijuana possession charges each month in 2018. In the first five months of 2019, prosecutors filed more than 5,600 new cases per month on average.
The number of cases has decreased by more than half since June, when the hemp legislation was implemented. According to court records, fewer than 2,000 new lawsuits were filed in November.
“When #txlege legalized hemp in 2019, it threw the prosecution of marijuana offenses into disarray. From 2018 to 2019, the number of arrests for marijuana possession dropped from 62.9k to 45.1k. That number continued to decline in 2020. The Texas Department of Public Safety (@TxDPS) recorded 23.7k arrests statewide.” Jolie McCullough, a reporter, took to Twitter.
The dramatic decrease in marijuana possession charges in Texas has an effect throughout the country.
According to FBI statistics, police in the United States arrested around 350,000 people for marijuana crimes last year, the lowest number in three decades. According to The Reason, a decrease in marijuana arrests in Texas in 2019 contributed to most of the national fall. Texas had over 50,000 fewer marijuana-related arrests in 2019 than in 2018.
“It means fewer Texans will be charged with marijuana possession, which is already lawful in other states,” Katharine Harris, a drug policy scholar at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, said.
The caught with edibles in texas 2021 is a post about how the prosecutions for marijuana possession have plummeted since hemp legalization.
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