It will be legal Thursday to possess small amounts of marijuana, or to grow it for recreational purposes, in Massachusetts. But that isn’t the the case in neighboring states, where pot possession remains illegal. And law enforcement in some of these places are getting ready.
In Rensselaer County, New York, which borders Massachusetts, Sheriff Patrick Russo said he’s taking a wait-and-see approach to how the new law to the east will impact his department. He’s leaving open the possibility he might need to increase patrols at the state line.
“If somebody goes over the border and buys an ounce and brings it back into Rensselaer County, then you have the possibility of that making its way into the school or being sold on the streets of New York,” Russo said.
And that’s also a concern of Enfield, Connecticut’s, Police Chief Carl Sferrazza. The town is the first over the Massachusetts line on Interstate 91.
“We know that with other illegal drugs, a lot of it flows from that highway, we’d expect the same thing would occur now, and possibly increase with the legalization law that was passed recently,” Sferrazza said.
Sferrazza and Russo also share concerns about drivers who consume marijuana in Massachusetts, and then try to drive home high. The risk, Sferrazza said, is there will be more accidents, and more fatalities.
“The most important thing is that we’re going to do everything we can to keep the motoring public safe, the community safe,” Sferrazza said.
The Enfield chief said there are no plans, though, to hire more police officers to patrol roadways.
Up I-91 about 65 miles is Brattleboro, Vermont, less than ten miles from the Massachusetts state line. Police Captain Mark Carignan said he’s concerned about marijuana becoming increasingly more available to young people. He said, though, the police force is focused on other challenges, including the opioid epidemic.
“Otherwise law-abiding citizens that are using marijuana in the safety and privacy of their own home is frankly not really a particularly large concern or high priority for us,” Carignan said. “We only have so many resources and we’re dedicating them to where the more damaging problems are, and right now, that’s not marijuana.”
Vermont, Connecticut and New York have each decriminalized small amounts of marijuana, meaning those caught face only a fine: a civil penalty rather than a criminal one. But the definition of a small amount varies by state.
State police in those three states all said they plan to enforce their laws on marijuana, and driving under the influence of it, the same way they always have. Lieutenant John Flannigan of Vermont said it’ll be business as usual, but he adds:
“We’re certainly going to be aware and a little bit more alert as to what sort of transportation activities and traffic we’re getting into Vermont,” Flannigan said.
It’ll be more than a year before Massachusetts has legal marijuana retail stores, but visitors from out of state will immediately be able to start using marijuana in places like a friend’s home. And when they head back across state lines, Rensselaer County Sheriff Patrick Russo said a little common sense might go a long way.
“We hope everybody would use their head and not put themselves in a position where they have to have interaction with law enforcement in a negative capacity,” Russo said.
This could all get even more complicated for law enforcement in the Northeast. Voters in Maine also legalized marijuana, narrowly, at the ballot box in November. That new law is currently on hold, however, as a recount continues.
This report was originally published by New England Public Radio.
