Two state police groups now support legal marijuana

Two West Coast police groups have changed their position and now support the federal effort to legalize cannabis, marking the first time a statewide police organization has called for an end to marijuana prohibition in the country. In a recent statement called a “historic shift,” the Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC) and the Oregon Coalition of Police and Sheriffs (ORCOPs) expressed support for federal legislation that creates a legal path to legalizing marijuana nationwide.

“The train has left the station,” PORAC ​​wrote in a position paper cited by SFGATE announcing the group’s call for federal marijuana legalization, “and for the vast majority of Americans, cannabis is legal and accessible.”

The two groups represent thousands of law enforcement officers who work for police and sheriff departments in California and Oregon. In a statement issued by the Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education, and Regulation (CPEAR), a cannabis policy group funded in part by alcohol and tobacco industry advocacy groups, the two police groups expressed support for the Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) Act. If passed, the bill would amend the federal Controlled Substances Act to exclude cannabis activities conducted in compliance with state or tribal regulations.

“The STATES Act does what any federal law should do – it helps all 50 states implement the policies they choose,” CPEAR executive director Andrew Freedman said late last year when the group endorsed the STATES Act. “Whether you are for or against legalization, we can all recognize that the federal government’s current stance of burying its head in the sand is not working.”

“This bill will create common sense guardrails that will protect our youth, keep our streets safe, fight addiction and psychosis, and keep cannabis out of communities that don’t want it,” he added. “This bill is not aimed at opening new cannabis markets. Instead, it simply aligns federal policy with state policy so that existing cannabis markets are safer and federal efforts can be focused on keeping cannabis out of states where it remains illegal.”

California police group rejects Prop 64

PORAC, the largest professional organization for police officers in California and the largest statewide group in the country, opposed Proposition 64, the 2016 ballot proposal that legalized marijuana for recreational use in California, after receiving more than 57% of the vote that year. But as cannabis became normal in the state following legalization, many members’ perceptions changed, causing the professional organization to change its stance on legal weed.

“A fair number of police officers patrolling the streets today have never heard of anything other than legalized marijuana in the state of California,” Brian Marvel, president of PORAC, told San Francisco Bay Area online news source SFGATE. “They are much more open to talking about marijuana.”

Marvel said the STATES Act would allow federal agencies to coordinate their activities directly with local law enforcement to support legal cannabis farms while curbing unlicensed cultivation.

“We’re not making a moral judgment about whether you should smoke it or not, but we want to make sure (legal cannabis companies) aren’t being pushed out by the illegal market,” Marvel said.

“We really need to do everything in our power to eradicate illegal cultivation in California,” he added.

Marvel said the two police groups’ shift in course is also relevant to the ongoing discussion about psychedelics policy reform, noting that many members of the group are more concerned with how to use the drugs safely than focusing on the ongoing prohibition of psychedelics.

“We shouldn’t bury our heads in the sand and just say, ‘No, no, no, we’re just going to do enforcement action,’ when in reality we should be focusing on violent crime and making our communities safer,” Marvel said.

The policy change by PORAC ​​and ORCOPs drew praise from leaders working to reform the country’s cannabis policy. Republican U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce of Ohio, a proponent of an updated version of the federal law called STATES 2.0, thanked the two police groups for their support of the legislation.

“As a former prosecutor, I know firsthand that our law enforcement officers are already overburdened – forcing these public servants to navigate a discrepancy between state and federal policy not only violates states’ rights, but is an inefficient use of valuable law enforcement resources,” Joyce said in a CPEAR announcement of the police groups’ support of the legislation. “Most importantly, it does nothing to improve public safety and, in many cases, actually works against it. The STATES 2.0 Act would eliminate this confusing discrepancy and support law enforcement in their efforts to enforce cannabis law and address the unique needs of the communities they represent.”

The move by the two police groups to support federal cannabis policy reform was also welcomed by representatives of the regulated cannabis industry. Lex Corwin, founder of California-based cannabis brand Stone Road Farms, said the “development is indicative of the changing ideological landscape around cannabis.”

“The California police group is right – the train has left the station. More Americans than ever are in favor of legalization and the majority of Americans live in a state with access to recreational or medical cannabis,” Corwin wrote in an email to High times. “It’s time for American law enforcement to focus on the real crimes that plague society. Violent crime is on the rise across the country, and the sooner we shift our law enforcement resources from eradicating a harmless plant to solving real crimes, the better.”