Gwinnett County will no longer prosecute misdemeanor marijuana cases

August 12, 2019
1 min read
Gwinnett County will no longer prosecute misdemeanor marijuana cases

Gwinnett County will not prosecute misdemeanor marijuana cases or make arrests for misdemeanor amounts of marijuana due to Georgia’s new hemp farming act.

The Georgia Hemp Farming Act became law on May 10, 2019.  The Office of the Solicitor General of Gwinnett County issued a memorandum, dated August 7, 2019, stating that due to the change in the law regarding allowable THC concentrations, they will no longer prosecute any misdemeanor marijuana cases with an arrest date on or after May 10, 2019. 

The Gwinnett County Police Department in turn released a statement Aug. 12 stating that the department will not make custodial arrests or issue citations for crimes related to misdemeanor amounts of marijuana. 

The police department will still pursue crimes related to felony amounts of marijuana; those cases will be reviewed by the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office on a case-by-case basis.

The Georgia Hemp Farming Act allows for hemp plants containing THC to be produced by licensed growers and possessed by individuals. The issue with enforcement arises from determining the difference between legal hemp and illegal marijuana—they are identical by smell and sight, even under a microscope.

Hemp must have a THC concentration of 0.3% or less to be legal.

According to the Gwinett Police Department typical marijuana smoked or ingested to produce a high has a THC concentration of about 10% to 15%; high grade marijuana may have a THC concentration of 25% to 35%. The testing methods currently used by the Gwinnett Police and GBI crime labs only test for the presence of THC and not for the concentration of THC. There is not a court acceptable test that can differentiate between hemp and marijuana. 

The GBI is researching methods and technologies to address the issue. 

“GCPD encourages the public to remember that possession and use of marijuana is illegal. The issue with testing is being thoroughly investigated to make sure that arrests made by GCPD are proper and legal,” said Gwinnett Police Department spokesman Jake Smith.

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