"Pot Pie": Colo. cops want some marijuana money to go to them
DENVER - Police chiefs in Colorado, one of two states that recently decriminalized the recreational use of small amounts of marijuana, want some of the revenue from the now-regulated drug to go into the cops' coffers.
According to CBS Denver, chiefs of police throughout the state sent a letter to Gov. John Hickenlooper stating they would like 10 to 15 percent of tax revenue from sales of the drug set aside for things like marijuana compliance officers, task forces dealing with trafficking, a statewide database on marijuana crimes and training."Some of the drains from some of our cities across the state are that they've re-diverted personnel to deal with compliance issues," said Greenwood Village Police Chief John Jackson.
"We'd like to see training include things for field sobriety impairment testing all the way down to how do we comply with Amendments 20 and 64," Jackson told CBS Denver.
Representative Jonathan Singer, a Democrat representing Longmont, has been instrumental in developing marijuana policy.
"The point is really well taken," said Singer. "I think we need to bring all sides to the table...one reason I worked on the marijuana tax bill and introduced it was to keep this drug out of the hands of kids, criminals and the cartels."
While Hickenlooper can make a wish list for funding on behalf of the chiefs, the legislature writes the budget. Over the next few weeks they will decide how to distribute the $184 million in tax revenue from pot projected over the next year.