Law enforcement officers adapt to legalized marijuana and anticipate dispensaries opening - WRGB
Saratoga Springs, NY (WRGB) — Since Marijuana was legalized in New York State in March 2021, law enforcement agencies have been adapting to new legislation.
Saratoga Springs Police Lt. Bob Jillson says the officers in his department worked with the State Police and NYPD to learn the legislation. And he says Saratoga Springs officers experienced marijuana use downtown this past summer.
It’s a different aroma on the streets in downtown Saratoga. We noticed it quite a bit working on the weekends, mostly on Caroline Street." Lt. Jillson "We didn’t have to remodel or revamp what we did but we had to make sure that we were doing it within the laws.
He says the legislation is not as clear cut as with alcohol - there’s no well-known level like 0.08% Blood Alcohol Content.
When it comes to impaired driving - both Saratoga Springs Police and Saratoga County Sheriffs Deputies know what signs to look for.
"We're looking for those signs or indicators in the way somebody’s driving a car." Saratoga County Sheriff's Office Captain
Shelley Zieske said. "We're gonna look for their speech patterns, how their eyes are moving, or what their eyes look like."
We rely a lot more on Drug Recognition Experts (DRE)." Lt. Jillson said. "We don’t have one in-house right now. However we’ve leaned on both the sheriff's department as well as the state police to have DREs that help us in the prosecution of those cases.
Both agencies say there’s no tool that they know of yet, to help them test for THC levels. Plus, Lt. Jillson says it would need to be recognized in court.
MORE: Cops seize 4,100 lbs., 18,461 plants at marijuana operation
CBS6 googled "Marijuana Breathalyzer" - and found a product by Hound Labs. You can join the online waitlist to get one. The company didn’t respond to CBS6's questions about availability or price.
CBS6 reached out to the Saratoga County District Attorneys Office. DA Karen Heggen says it’s complicated issue, and her office is having conversations about enforcing and prosecuting issues involving marijuana.
Saratoga Springs Public Safety Commissioner Jim Montagnino says his office is looking at ways to safely move forward, as dispensaries open and marijuana sales expand.
We're going to need to have additional enforcement mechanisms, more police officers out on the street, to make sure that marijuana sales don’t happen in street transactions. That the purchases are made at licensed legitimate facilities." Montagnino said.
Commissioner Montagnino says Saratoga Springs opted "In" for hosting dispensaries if they get licenses. He says the city council has already started talking about possible locations , which will need to be discussed further with the planning and zoning boards.
CBS6 also reached out to the state office of cannabis management to ask about a timeline for dispensaries and about enforcement, but haven’t heard back.
source: https://cbs6albany.com/news/local/law-enforcement-officers-adapt-to-legalized-marijuana-and-anticipate-dispensaries-opening
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