Concerns for Legalizing Marijuana

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Created on Friday, 29 April 2016 16:11

Written by Alexa Richard

AROUND THE NEK- Legalization of marijuana is on the rise throughout the United States. In Vermont, an amended version of S.241, which had the purposed of legalizing marijuana, was passed with a vote of 6-5, but local law enforcement officials say there is still more that needs to be looked at before legalizing the drug.

"It's an issue now and it's an issue to the point we don't have all the resources we need to deal with that," said Saint Johnsbury Chief of Police Clement Houde. "There is a drug war going on and now we're seeing our drug warbeing part of our everyday crimes that are committed."

Right now, law enforcement officers do not have the right technology to test for marijuana, also known as THC. It takes, on average, 28 days for the body to get rid of THC. This makes it more difficult for law enforcement to test marijuana.

"We've been complaining as chiefs of police in the state of Vermont since they started with this was the only law enforcement piece in there was to give some funding towards DRE (drug recognition officers) and 25 more Vermont state police," said Chief Houde. "25 state troopers doesn't do St. J Police Department any good because they don't operate in our area. That 25 is going to amount to maybe one or two more in this area, but you're legalizing a drug that is going to have way more impact than that. Two troopers, if we get two in this area, are not going to take care of the problems that associate with that."

In the driving area, there has not been a proven reliable test. Chief Houde says when a test does get to a point where it is usable, it is going to take years of challenges from defense attorneys in evidentiary purposes.

Law enforcement officers could also face problems when they pull a person over for being suspected to be under the influence of marijuana.

"If I pull someone over for using marijuana, there's not a real altho-sensor test that we can give. The only thing I can do is arrest them and bring them in and take their blood," explained Chief Houde. "In order to test blood for marijuana levels in it, it's about a $260 test and currently the police department pays for that, unless we can get a DRE to come to our area."

Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott also shared in the Chief Houde's concerns with impaired drivers.

"I'm concerned about impairment on our highways and I'm concerned about the structure," said Scott. "I'm concerned about how we would have proper oversight and I think these other states are struggling with this as well."

There are currently four states in the United States that have legalized marijuana: Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska. Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott says these states legalized marijuana by referendum and legalizing marijuana in Vermont is a huge policy decision, which he does not want to rush.

"We're learning a lot from what they've done," said Scott. "The governor of Colorado had said as recently as December that his advice to any state that is looking to legalize is to wait a couple of years, watch what we do, we'll work this out and we'll come up with some solutions to some of the problems and other obstacles that we found, so wait and I think that's good advice. I'm not saying never, I'm just saying not now."

Vermont participated in a study where Vermonters were able to take a hands on approach and study marijuana being legalized. In this study, there were a lot of problems with the black market. The goal in Colorado was to reduce the black market, which in fact did the opposite.

"The state of Vermont is looking to make revenue off of this by taxing marijuana," said Chief Houde. "The fact of the matter is those who are selling drugs illegally are simply going to undercut the legal price that it's going for."

Chief Houde explained there is no way for law enforcements to tell whether or not a drug came from a legal drug vendor, which would become a problem.

Another problem with both Scott and Chief Houde is edibles and ultimately what is in them.

"You eat an edible that has THC in it, it takes about an hour for you to feel the effects of it because you're ingesting it into your body in a different way, explained Chief Houde. "For those people who aren't really informed, and if you're impatient and you don't wait two or three hours and you say that you're going to have another one, by the time it catches up with you, it can catch up with you hard."

Chief Houde explained that drugs can be genetically altered. There is no information on how much THC or other drugs that may be in the edibles, which could be a problem with the black market. Right now, law enforcement see a lot of drugs introduced in marijuana joints.

"We do think it's a gateway drug and we are not proponents of this at this point in time," said Scott. "There are strong feelings on both sides and I think being a little bit hesitant is the right approach at this point."

Another concern Chief Houde has is with children. Anytime something new like marijuana is introduced into their systems while they are growing could stunt their growth both mentally and physically.

Vermont has the chance to learn from the other states and to not make the same mistakes those states are making.

"We would be the first state to do it by legislation," explained Scott. "I think the proponents are very active, but I think if you explain it properly to Vermonters, I think they would share in my apprehension about whether this is the right thing to do right now."