CT Police Chiefs Oppose Bill To Legalize Marijuana

CONNECTICUT — An organization representing over 7,000 law enforcement officers in the state has announced its opposition to Senate Bill 888, the proposed legislation which would legalize recreational marijuana use for adults.

In a letter delivered to members of the state Assembly's Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association said their opposition centered around the absence of any qualified roadside testing of motorists suspected of driving while impaired by cannabis.

During a roundtable with academic, business and political leaders earlier in the day, Mike Lawlor, associate professor of criminal justice at the University of New Haven, said that a "behavioral impairment standard" for marijuana had yet to be created. Such would need to adopted, and law enforcement be trained quickly in its procedures and metrics, before any kind of sanctions against weed-impaired drivers could be levied, Lawlor said.

"While the presence of a police officer trained in Advanced Roadside Impairment Driving Enforcement or the presence of a Drug Recognition Expert may potentially assist in the evaluation of a motorist, there is presently no legal device in which to test such operators," said CPCA Executive Director Pamela Hayes in the letter.

"The DRE evaluation mentioned in this bill is a process which occurs after the arrest is made," according to Hayes, who predicted the number of drunk and drugged arrests will most likely increase if S.B. 888 were to pass.

Hayes said the police chiefs are also concerned about how officers will respond to calls from citizens regarding quality of life issue for marijuana complaints if the bill were to become law.

"CPCA has also heard from groups around the state that are concerned with how law enforcement will deal with underage use of marijuana," Hayes said.