Wednesday afternoon State Attorney Jack Campbell says he is halting the prosecution of many marijuana possession cases in the second circuit. Only a few months ago, the state of Florida legalized hemp, which looks and smells like marijuana.
The State Attorney shares that previously law enforcement agencies would be able to rely on their sense of smell or sight, “I used to be able to smell cannabis and I could take action because that smell in it of itself was evidence of a crime, that is no longer true.”
Marijuana which is illegal, looks and smells the same as the legal hemp. Campbell observes, “It is the same plant. It smells like marijuana because it is marijuana it looks like marijuana because it is marijuana. It is just marijuana with less than .3% THC in it.”
Because you can only tell the difference between the two based on the percent of THC, Campbell says it is a difficult distinction for law enforcement to make, “So instead of the officer just saying hey its marijuana, I now have probable cause to search your car, arrest you for possession, and take action. Now they have to be able to differentiate okay now I see cannabis is the concentration above or below .3%.”