Marijuana & THC: A Potentially Life-altering Experience

It’s winter break. You and a bunch of your friends head north to Colorado to do a little skiing, a little partying, to kick back and relax.

And since Colorado has legalized marijuana for recreational as well as medicinal use, you’re looking forward to doing that as well, knowing you won’t have to worry about being caught. So far, so good.

You don’t even have to smoke it. Marijuana products range from brownies and chocolate bars to drinks and gumdrops, all containing THC, tetrahydrocannabinol, the ingredient in marijuana that generates its high.

A company in Canada has even figured out how to brew beer from the marijuana plant, complete with a vastly accelerated high beyond what plain old alcohol can provide. So you stock up, figuring you’ll bring some back for later.

A few days later, you’re headed back to campus, and you cross the state line into Texas. You hear the blip of a siren and look in the rearview mirror. The officer signals you to pull over.

In Texas, marijuana possession is not just illegal but potentially a felony offense.

The cop asks you where you’re coming from. “Telluride,” you say. “We were doing some skiing.” As he scans your license, you add, “We’re heading back to Texas Tech.” He studies you a moment before peering through your car window into the backseat. He spies a candy bar wrapper on the floor.

“Everyone, out of the car,” he orders.

You feel the first prickle of apprehension.

He reaches in for the wrapper and immediately sees it contains THC. “I’m searching your vehicle for drugs,” he says. You and your friends exchange nervous glances.

When the search turns up a selection of chocolate bars and gummy bears, you’re immediately placed under arrest. “But I bought it in Colorado,” you protest.

Well, guess what? Texas doesn’t care that you bought it legally. It’s illegal here.

Texas police often single out vehicles coming in from other states. You’re an even more prominent target if your car is out of state and licensed where marijuana has been legalized, even if only for medicinal reasons. Texas doesn’t care if you have it on you for medicinal purposes.

I’ve had clients who have been stopped for driving 76 mph in a 75-mph zone, or sometimes for no reason at all beyond the fact that they were coming from Colorado. Such profiling is indeed unfair, but unfairness doesn’t make for a legitimate criminal defense.

Texas has taken a few baby steps forward in legalizing the use of CBD cannabis oil, which is low in THC. But it’s legal only for the treatment of severe epileptic seizures that haven’t responded to traditional medication and certain