Local law enforcement weigh pros and cons of legalizing recreational marijuana
For the Observer-Reporter
State police Trooper Robert Broadwater said legislation on recreational marijuana must be written with law enforcement and public safety in mind.
For the Observer-Reporter
Uniontown City Police Lt. Tom Kolencik said legalizing recreational pot could cause a slight increase in crime.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Washington County District Attorney Gene Vittone
Photo courtesy of Wavy Madonna
Marijuana buds
Courtesy of Wavy Madonna
Editor’s note: This is the second of a three-part series.
Three years after Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana bill was signed into law, police remain unable to verify legal cannabis users.
As discussions heighten for a push to legalize adult recreational marijuana, law enforcement officials question what other problems could await them.
“It’s all about safety. We want to save lives,” said state police Trooper Robert Broadwater. “I just hope (legislators) take the steps to prepare us with what we need in order to have the tools to do our job if they legalize this.”
DUI rates and
other crimes
Area prosecutors referenced studies indicating legalizing marijuana would increase the number of people driving under its influence.
“All you have to do is take a look at Colorado,” said Fayette County District Attorney Rich Bower. “They’ve had an increase in crime out there, and I don’t think it’s going to be any different here. I think you’re probably going to have issues as a result of it being legalized.”
Marijuana-related traffic deaths in Colorado increased an average of 66 percent from 2013 to 2016 after recreational marijuana was legalized, according to a 2017 report from the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. In 2013, 55 fatal crashes involving marijuana were reported. In 2016, that number spiked to 125.
“That’s really the information that I don’t think is out there in the dialogue right now,” said Washington County District Attorney Gene Vittone.
Rates of driving under the influence of a controlled substance are already on the rise, especially drivers impaired by prescription drugs, according to Broadwater.
“It’s just going to keep going up,” he said.
Officers noted those who would drive under the influence of marijuana are probably undeterred by legality.
“They’re not going to say, ‘I’m going to smoke marijuana and drive now.’ They’re already doing it,” said Charleroi police Chief Eric Porter.
Other officers said legal access could increase DUI rates. But unlike narcotics and other drugs, marijuana users rarely commit crimes such as robberies to get their drugs.
“You’re not robbing stores to go get weed. You’re not really doing anything,” said Connellsville Police Detective Lt. Tom Patton.
“They’re just sitting on the couch,” added Cpl. Bryan Kendi. “Marijuana doesn’t drive our crime statistics, hardly at all.”
Marijuana
as a gateway
Officers said many factors are at play in determining whether a person who uses marijuana will go on to other drugs. Age, circumstances and an addictive personality play a role, they said.
“For years, it was considered a gateway drug, so now you’re legalizing what is considered a gateway,” said Patton. “It doesn’t necessarily mean everyone who smokes it is going to progress to anything else.”
Prescription drug use appears to be a much more dangerous gateway, said police.
“They get addicted to (pills), and they want something more. That’s where heroin comes in,” Broadwater said.
As public perceptions on marijuana shift, Bower said his stance on marijuana as a gateway drug remains solid.
“I think it is a gateway drug. I’ve said that all along since I’ve taken over as the district attorney,” he said.
Alcohol, too, can serve as a gateway drug, officers said, and people under the influence of alcohol have a higher tendency to be violent compared to marijuana.
Penalties and manpower
The Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association is unopposed to decriminalization of marijuana because of its burden on the court system, but opposes legalization because of “negative health and social consequences,” said Lindsay Vaughan, executive director of the organization.
“In many jurisdictions prosecutors already use their discretion in choosing not to file an ungraded misdemeanor for possession of a small amount of marijuana or do not pursue that charge after it has been filed,” she said.
Misconceptions about jail time for a small amount of marijuana are pervasive, Vittone said.
“There seems to be a perception that there are a lot of people in jail for marijuana offenses, and that’s really not true,” he said.
Possession of a small amount of marijuana, defined as 30 grams or less, carries a maximum penalty of 30 days in jail. Most of those cases are resolved at the magisterial district judge level in Washington County, Vittone said.
Kendi said research into jail time for marijuana often produces skewed results because a person may commit a violent crime and also possess marijuana, or possess a small amount of marijuana and an illegal gun.
Encounters with a person with marijuana almost always begin with a call to report a crime unrelated to marijuana, such as retail theft, or a traffic stop.
“Marijuana does not make up a large proportion of our work time. We’re not a border state. We don’t have to worry about large amounts of marijuana coming across illegally. We don’t have those problems,” Kendi said.
Connellsville officers spend between two-and-a-half and four hours on a court case for a small amount of marijuana, depending on the way charges are filed, Kendi said. State police described the amount of manpower involved in a small amount of marijuana case as “substantial.”
In Washington County, people charged with a small amount of marijuana often enter a guilty plea to disorderly conduct, Porter said.
“It just bogs down the criminal justice system. Maybe decriminalization will help with that. I just think it will help ease the dockets a little bit,” he said.
Decriminalization or legalization may lessen the burden for officers and free up time to investigate other cases like burglaries, said Uniontown City Police Lt. Tom Kolencik. But that burden could be passed on to other levels of the judicial system, such as adult probation, or increase rates of other crimes like DUIs.
“You can just talk pros and cons all day,” he said.
Access to youth
In Colorado, youth who reported using marijuana within the past month increased by an average of 12 percent between 2013 and 2015 compared to the three-year period before legalization, according to the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. Accessing marijuana for a teen in a legal state would become much like sneaking into a parents’ liquor cabinet, police said.
“It’s going to be a lot like alcohol. This will almost be like prohibition ended,” Patton said.
Marijuana is increasing significantly in its potency, containing higher levels of THC, the psychoactive substance in marijuana. Vittone referenced research showing marijuana with high THC levels are shown to impair brain development and exacerbate psychotic symptoms. A state police trooper who asked not to be identified because of his position said prior to legalization, studies should be completed on high-THC marijuana and vaping increasing rates of “popcorn lung,” the common name for a disease obstructing the bronchioles.
Legislation should be written only after examining many aspects of public safety relative to legalization, Vittone said.
“Proceed slowly. Make sure they do it correctly. Make sure they consider the impact it’s going to have on law enforcement and public safety,” he said.
Before those steps are considered, however, some officers are still looking for help from the state to verify users in its medical marijuana program.
Those protocols remain unclear and undefined. Some departments assume a card is valid if it appears real and the marijuana appears to fit within legal perimeters. Others file charges and wait for the documents to be proven valid.
“That’s probably the first thing that needs to be changed,” Kolencik said. “There has to be some way for us to legally find out whether you legally possess the marijuana. Right now, there’s nothing.”