Texas Troopers Mistake Hemp for Marijuana
A Florida man was charged with felony drug possession and put in jail for almost a month because Texas state troopers believed he was transporting marijuana.
According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Aneudy Gonzalez, 39, was stopped by troopers in Amarillo on December 5, 2019 for a traffic violation. At the time, Gonzalez was driving a 2016 Ford UHaul from San Jose, California, to New York City transporting hemp for work.
During the traffic stop, troopers believed that they had discovered over 3,000 pounds of marijuana. The troopers then called the DEA for assistance. DEA Special Agents adopted the case and Gonzalez was placed into the Randall County Jail for a month.
The only thing is that Gonzalez was actually transporting hemp - not marijuana. Hemp is legal in Texas, but troopers and DEA agents were reportedly confused about the state law and rules concerning hemp. It was in 2019 that Texas legalized hemp production and defined marijuana as a cannabis plant containing more than 0.3% of THC.
On January 2, the charge against Gonzalez was dismissed and he was able to walk out of jail after being wrongly imprisoned. The law firm representing Gonzalez stated, "We will now be seeking the return of property and just compensation for our client losing a month of his life in the custody of the US Marshals."
Gonzalez has stated he has not received an apology for the mistake that took nearly a month of his life.
Cheers to the endless war on drugs, right?