SALEM — A recent study that draws heavily on Deschutes County found an “overwhelming consensus” among law enforcement officers that Oregon’s marijuana laws are poorly written and confusing.
As a result, this perception has even led some local officers to stop enforcing marijuana laws altogether, according to the February report by Portland State University researchers Kris Henning and Greg Stewart.
“The laws are too convoluted to comprehend,” one officer wrote in a survey response. “If we as law enforcement can’t easily decipher the laws, how can we expect the citizens to be able to understand them?”
Wrote another: “I have just started treating weed as if it is legal regardless of the amount.”
For their report, titled “Dazed and Confused: Police Experiences Enforcing Oregon’s New Marijuana Laws,” Henning and Stewart surveyed 301 police officers in the second half of 2020. Participants included officers and deputies from four agencies: Bend Police Department, Redmond Police Department, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and the Klamath County Sheriff’s Office.
• More than 90% of participants felt that the illegal shipment of marijuana out of state had increased in the past three years.
• More than 90% believe instances of driving under the influence of marijuana had increased for adults and juveniles.
• More…
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SALEM — A recent study that draws heavily on Deschutes County found an “overwhelming consensus” among law enforcement officers that Oregon’s marijuana laws are poorly written and confusing.
As a result, this perception has even led some local officers to stop enforcing marijuana laws altogether, according to the February report by Portland State University researchers Kris Henning and Greg Stewart.
“The laws are too convoluted to comprehend,” one officer wrote in a survey response. “If we as law enforcement can’t easily decipher the laws, how can we expect the citizens to be able to understand them?”
Wrote another: “I have just started treating weed as if it is legal regardless of the amount.”
For their report, titled “Dazed and Confused: Police Experiences Enforcing Oregon’s New Marijuana Laws,” Henning and Stewart surveyed 301 police officers in the second half of 2020. Participants included officers and deputies from four agencies: Bend Police Department, Redmond Police Department, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and the Klamath County Sheriff’s Office.
• More than 90% of participants felt that the illegal shipment of marijuana out of state had increased in the past three years.
• More than 90% believe instances of driving under the influence of marijuana had increased for adults and juveniles.
• More…
