DUI Task Force discusses pot legalization

The Sanders County DUI (driving under the influence) Task Force met for their first meeting of the year to discuss the legalization of recreational marijuana.

Deputy County Attorney Cheryl Copperstone brought up her concerns about state legalization of recreational marijuana use. The legislation became effective January 1, and though counties can opt out, Copperstone believes law enforcement of the whole state will be affected. She then asked meeting participants, which included Thompson Falls Police Chief Chris Nichols and Hot Springs Police Chief Eric Pflager, how or if they would put more pressure on THC-related DUIs. “I think THC DUIs need to be addressed because it’s legal,” said Copperstone, clarifying that recreational use may be legal, however, driving while impaired still is not.

“Little has been done to prepare law enforcement,” said DUI Task Force Chair John Marshall, referring to the new law. With extreme costs required to have personnel effectively trained to become admissible Drug Recognition Experts (DRE), Nichols and Pfleger both believe there are more effective ways to achieve the same goal with the given resources. According to Nichols, among other things, having an officer certified as a DRE can cost more than $8,000 for a long and intensive course and the officer must be approved by Montana Highway Patrol. “We just don’t have the amount of (THC) DUIs,” said Pfleger. Instead, both chiefs explained that as long as they can arrest a person for an alcohol DUI, it is the same driving under the influence charge, no matter what the influence is. According to Nichols, the vast majority of the time a person has smoked, they have also been drinking.

Copperstone asked about blood draws, and the chiefs both explained that they do them sometimes, however, all parties were aware that time is an important factor in blood draws with detecting cannabis use. Nichols explained that with such a small department, sometimes it can be a significant amount of time before a test can be given while the officer needs to remain on the scene of an accident. Officers can request the DRE from Lincoln County, but that can also take a lot of time and affect the test.

The group also expressed concerns about THC edibles. “There is no regulation

whatsoever” on the potency of the THC edibles, Marshall said. With regular marijuana use, there can be visible signs of use. Nichols explained that there may be paraphernalia in the vehicle, or a smell of the substance after it was smoked. With edibles, there may be none of these things, and the officer may need to read the perpetrator’s reactions and presence of mind. Without proper training this can be difficult. Along with that, Nichols expressed concerns about over-the-counter containers used to hide and disguise contents, such as fake pop cans and the like.

Nichols brought up that even though marijuana use is now legal, it is not legal to drive under the influence, and so the open container policy applies. This means that if a person is pulled over and they have used paraphernalia inside the vehicle, this is considered in the same way as an open container is in the world of alcohol DUIs. “If it’s in the car, it’s just like open container,” Nichols said..

“There’s a perception out there that we need to attack,” Copperstone explained, referring to the many times she has seen people pulled over and arguing that marijuana use is now legal. Marshall added to Copperstone’s comment, saying, “the use may be, but it’s not legal to get in a car and drive.” They brought up how with counties opting out, there is still a battle for legality in the state, and it may challenge officers to act under the law, as well as citizens, with some areas now being legal and others still not.

Pfleger explained the importance of educating people. The group decided to brainstorm ideas for reaching out to the public to get their message out. With only 38 of 56 counties in the state approved to have DUI Task Forces, Sanders County, as one of those, has access to significant funding for these kinds of things. The group decided to place advertising in the local media to illustrate to the community, and especially to youth, the dangers of driving under the influence of any mind-altering substance. Marshall further explained that it is difficult to reach adults. The best way to make the change is to reach out to change the minds of young people. The group will work on a video contest employing the schools to take part, as well as brainstorm ways to get youth to further participate in the organization. “We can’t arrest our way out of this,” said Marshall. “We want to put ourselves out of business.”