{"id":15819,"date":"2019-07-18T00:43:30","date_gmt":"2019-07-18T04:43:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lcpllutzlivetotell.org\/?p=15819"},"modified":"2019-08-08T12:25:39","modified_gmt":"2019-08-08T16:25:39","slug":"a-blow-to-law-enforcement-efforts-new-hemp-laws-temporarily-halting-marijuana-related-arrests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/?p=15819","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;A blow to law enforcement efforts&#8217;: New hemp laws temporarily halting marijuana-related arrests"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"headline-wrap\">\n<h3 class=\"Page-body ArticlePage-headline\" data-bsp-plugin=\"Module37209\">&#8216;A blow to law enforcement efforts&#8217;: New hemp laws temporarily halting marijuana-related arrests<\/h3>\n<div class=\"published\"><span class=\"accent\">Posted:<\/span>&nbsp;11:16 PM, Jul 16, 2019<\/div>\n<div class=\"last-updated\"><span class=\"accent\">Updated:<\/span>&nbsp;<span class=\"last-updated-date\" data-bsp-plugin=\"Module84117\">4:18 AM, Jul 17, 2019<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-top-contain\">\n<div class=\"Page-body ArticlePage-byline\" data-bsp-plugin=\"Module37209\">\n<div class=\"Page-body ArticlePage-authorTexts\" data-bsp-plugin=\"Module37209\">\n<div class=\"Page-body ArticlePage-authorName\" data-bsp-plugin=\"Module37209\"><span class=\"accent\">By:<\/span>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wptv.com\/meghan-mcroberts\">Meghan McRoberts<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"left-column\">\n<div class=\"Page-body ArticlePage-lead\" data-bsp-plugin=\"Module37209\">\n<div class=\"Wheel\" data-bsp-plugin=\"Module77142\">\n<div class=\"carousel-container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Page-body ArticlePage-byline\" data-bsp-plugin=\"Module37209\">\n<div class=\"Page-body ArticlePage-authorTexts\" data-bsp-plugin=\"Module37209\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"published\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"scripps_iframe_embed\" style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div style=\"display: block; width: 100%; height: auto; padding-bottom: 56.25%;\">\n<div class=\"scripps_iframe_embed\" style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div style=\"display: block; width: 100%; height: auto; padding-bottom: 56.25%;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"scripps_iframe_embed\" style=\"position:relative;\">\n<div style=\"display:block;width:100%;height:auto;padding-bottom:56.25%;\"><\/div>\n<p><iframe style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%; height:100%;\" border=\"0\" webkitallowfullscreen=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\" mozallowfullscreen=\"\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.scrippsdigital.com\/cms\/videoIframe.html?&amp;host=www.wptv.com&amp;title=New%20rules%20for%20'sniff%20%20and%20search'%20in%20Martin%20County&amp;m3u8=https:\/\/content.uplynk.com\/e33ce012edc8426c8b73c3819dc6bae0.m3u8&amp;purl=\/news\/local-news\/martin-county\/a-blow-to-law-enforcement-efforts-new-hemp-laws-temporarily-halting-marijuana-related-arrests&amp;story=0&amp;ex=1&amp;s=wptv\" height=\"100%\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. \u2014 Law enforcement officers in our area face a new obstacle in pursuing investigations into illegal use and possession of marijuana.<\/p>\n<p>According to the State Attorney\u2019s Office, the sight or smell of marijuana can no longer be used as probable cause to search someone\u2019s property for marijuana.<\/p>\n<p>That is because marijuana is too similar to hemp, which was removed from the controlled substance list in the state of Florida, making it legal.<\/p>\n<p>Law enforcement can not tell if a plant is marijuana or hemp just by the odor or appearance.<\/p>\n<p>In a letter from State Attorney Bruce Colton, law enforcement agencies in the district were told:<\/p>\n<div class=\"Enhancement\">\n<div class=\"Enhancement-item\">\n<div class=\"Quote\">\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;The July 1 amendment to the definition of cannabis in Florida Statute 893.02 will require law enforcement agencies to develop new strategies for the arrest and prosecution of offenses involving cannabis\u2026. Since there is no way to distinguish hemp from cannabis, the mere presence of suspected cannabis or its odor will no longer suffice to establish probable cause to believe the substance is cannabis. Law enforcement officers should, therefore, look for other evidence of illegality before taking any action that requires probable cause.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>As far as prosecuting cannabis offenses, \u201cthe state will need to prove that the substance at issue has a THC concentration of greater than .3% on a dry weight basis. Neither the Indian River Crime Laboratory nor any other DEA-licensed facility in Florida currently has the ability to quantitate the concentration level of THC in suspected cannabis,\u201d the letter continued.<\/p>\n<p>But, there are efforts underway to change that.<\/p>\n<p>The letter continues that efforts to be able to test for levels of THC at the crime lab could be completed in 3-6 months. Until then, the letter concludes \u201cagencies should not be submitting, to the Indian River Crime Laboratory, suspected cannabis exhibits seized by law enforcement on or after July 1, 2019.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Martin County Sheriff William Snyder says this could be a blow to law enforcement officers trying to enforce laws surrounding the use of marijuana possession.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis agency and most agencies around Florida will not be making marijuana arrests,\u201d Snyder said. \u201cUntil we have a lab that can test, law enforcement efforts around marijuana are dead in the water.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Corporal Billy Jaques says the odor of marijuana is one of the more common ways of being able to search a vehicle without a warrant.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFresh or burnt, it\u2019s a pretty distinct odor. Once you have smelled it before it\u2019s pretty recognizable,\u201d Jaques said. It has led to many of his arrests over the years. \u201cIn my 23 years in law enforcement, I\u2019d say no less than 600 were off of the odor of cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Snyder says being able to use the odor of marijuana as probable cause to search a vehicle often leads to the discovery of other bigger crimes.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Marijuana detection oftentimes led to other arrests that were much more significant. Those days are gone,\u201d Snyder said. \u201cIt will be a blow to everyday enforcement efforts&#8230; society will not be better off for this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jaques said he recently worked on a case where the odor of marijuana allowed him to search a vehicle where he also discovered crystal methamphetamine.<\/p>\n<p>Weapons or other contraband have also been discovered.<\/p>\n<p>But Snyder says this still is not a free ticket for people to get away with possession or smoking marijuana behind the wheel. If someone appears to beRetrieve under the influence, deputies can perform field tests.<\/p>\n<p>Retrieved from: https:\/\/www.wptv.com\/news\/local-news\/martin-county\/a-blow-to-law-enforcement-efforts-new-hemp-laws-temporarily-halting-marijuana-related-arrests?fbclid=IwAR0r4iQZAZNaF5C3-avh71augTR1R4C9EKctoIviY5FYRdjQPOiUsGdNGVs<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8216;A blow to law enforcement efforts&#8217;: New hemp laws temporarily halting marijuana-related arrests Posted:&nbsp;11:16 PM, Jul 16, 2019 Updated:&nbsp;4:18 AM, Jul 17, 2019 By:&nbsp;Meghan McRoberts MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. \u2014 Law enforcement officers in our area face a new obstacle in pursuing investigations into illegal use and possession of marijuana. According &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15820,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[617],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cannabis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15819\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}