Colorado Police Sergeant Weighs Pros, Cons of Medical Marijuana
By: Marci Manley, KARK 4 News
Updated: November 1, 2012
The medical marijuana industry in Colorado is touted as the most regulated, with new regulations from 2010 totaling 77 pages.
But some law enforcement says there are entire pages left blank when it comes to compliance, which allows for loopholes some people can exploit.
"We're making more arrests for marijuana related crimes than we did five years ago," says Sergeant Jim Gerhardt. "Because it's so out of control here."
Sergeant Gerhardt doesn't consider medical marijuana a flaw-free operation.
"There are huge huge gaps in the regulatory scheme," he says.
A recent sweep by law enforcement found more than 100 cases where medical marijuana was grown in legal facilities had been diverted for illegal use.
According to Gerhardt, having marijuana on hand is making the streets less safe.
"Daily we're seeing incidents where people are driving under the influence of marijuana getting into serious accidents, even causing fatalities," he says.
They have also seen problems with kids who discover their parents' edible pot products that resemble popular candies.
"When they end up eating this stuff they end up hospitalized," he says.
Less than a month ago, two 19 year olds sparked an investigation into possible marijuana psychosis, a negative reaction to regular marijuana that can sometimes turn deadly.
"One of them went into his home and stabbed himself 17 times one of the stab wounds went through his heart and killed him," says Gerhardt.
While he can't ignore the compassion he feels for those who turn to pot to relieve their pain, Sergeant Gerhardt isn't sure the benefits outweigh the burden for society.
"You can't help but say, 'yeah it makes sense from that limited perspective,'" he says. "Are enough people going to be helped to outweigh the problems it's going to cause to everybody else? I think in Colorado, my assessment is it has not."
In Colorado there's actually a push for recreational marijuana to be legalized.
According to law enforcement, given the gaps in these regulations, that concerns them on what the impact could be on moving the system forward.
But some law enforcement says there are entire pages left blank when it comes to compliance, which allows for loopholes some people can exploit.
"We're making more arrests for marijuana related crimes than we did five years ago," says Sergeant Jim Gerhardt. "Because it's so out of control here."
Sergeant Gerhardt doesn't consider medical marijuana a flaw-free operation.
"There are huge huge gaps in the regulatory scheme," he says.
A recent sweep by law enforcement found more than 100 cases where medical marijuana was grown in legal facilities had been diverted for illegal use.
According to Gerhardt, having marijuana on hand is making the streets less safe.
"Daily we're seeing incidents where people are driving under the influence of marijuana getting into serious accidents, even causing fatalities," he says.
They have also seen problems with kids who discover their parents' edible pot products that resemble popular candies.
"When they end up eating this stuff they end up hospitalized," he says.
Less than a month ago, two 19 year olds sparked an investigation into possible marijuana psychosis, a negative reaction to regular marijuana that can sometimes turn deadly.
"One of them went into his home and stabbed himself 17 times one of the stab wounds went through his heart and killed him," says Gerhardt.
While he can't ignore the compassion he feels for those who turn to pot to relieve their pain, Sergeant Gerhardt isn't sure the benefits outweigh the burden for society.
"You can't help but say, 'yeah it makes sense from that limited perspective,'" he says. "Are enough people going to be helped to outweigh the problems it's going to cause to everybody else? I think in Colorado, my assessment is it has not."
In Colorado there's actually a push for recreational marijuana to be legalized.
According to law enforcement, given the gaps in these regulations, that concerns them on what the impact could be on moving the system forward.
