For decades, California has been at the forefront of marijuana legalization. In 1996, it was the first state to legalize medical marijuana. Then, in November 2016, California voters legalized adult recreational use of marijuana by approving Proposition 64, which allows individuals over 21 years of age to possess, cultivate and sell marijuana. There are now eight states, plus the District of Columbia, where recreational marijuana is legal.
MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION Means More, Not Less, Training Needed for Officers
By: Leischen Stelter, editor of In Public Safety
For decades, California has been at the forefront of marijuana legalization. In 1996, it was the first state to legalize medical marijuana. Then, in November 2016, California voters legalized adult recreational use of marijuana by approving Proposition 64, which allows individuals over 21 years of age to possess, cultivate and sell marijuana. There are now eight states, plus the District of Columbia, where recreational marijuana is legal.
Marijuana remains a Schedule I drug under federal law; however, California lawmakers are aiming to change that too. In September 2017, lawmakers submitted a proposal to the federal government requesting a reclassification of cannabis, which would further lessen the penalties for possession. Proposed legislation on the federal level also calls for removing marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act.
HOW LEGALIZATION HAS CHANGED MARIJUANA LAW ENFORCEMENT
The legalization of marijuana has put law enforcement in a conflicted position said Keith Graves, who has a master’ s degree in criminal justice from American Military University and recently retired after 29 years as an officer in the San Francisco Bay area. Graves was the 2016 California Narcotics Officer of the Year and has been a Drug Recognition Expert( DRE) instructor for 25 years.
Another deterrent for drug enforcement is that many district attorneys( DA) aren’ t prosecuting marijuana
12 California Police Chief | www. californiapolicechiefs. org intoxication cases because there’ s a lack of consensus throughout the state on how to go about it. For example, in cases of driving under the influence( DUI), many DAs want a concrete number.“ The per se limit is. 08 for an alcohol DUI charge, but for marijuana there’ s not a per se limit,” said Graves.“ The case depends on what an officer sees combined with field sobriety tests, but DAs are often scared to prosecute without clear numbers.”
Technology doesn’ t seem to be providing the answers yet, either. While there are some oral swab test kits, they can be unreliable for testing the presence of THC, or more specifically, impairment from recent use. For example, if someone consumes a THC product without smoking it, they may test negative even though they have taken the drug. In addition, marijuana metabolizes in a way that stays in the system for a long time, so even if someone tests positive, it’ s difficult to determine if it was used recently or days ago.
Therefore, the justice system must rely on officers’ observations for assessments of intoxication. That’ s why it’ s critical, more than ever, for agencies to have highly trained, drug-recognition experts who have the skills and credentials to verify drug intoxication.
AMENDED DRUG RECOGNITION TRAINING
Agencies have been retooling their drug training programs to certify as many officers as possible. Ideally, all officers would be certified as drug recognition experts( DRE), but that’ s just not practical, said Graves. DRE