Pot arrests of drivers bring financial strain

The flow of marijuana out of Colorado and into Nebraska is putting a strain on law enforcement and county attorneys in bordering communities.

There were more than 60 marijuana-related arrests in Cheyenne County in 2013. Officials say this number has at least doubled already in 2014.

As of May, there had already been 37 arrests related to possession of marijuana in Deuel County. Felony marijuana cases have tripled in Deuel County this year, said Deputy Cheyenne County and Deuel County Attorney Jonathon Stellar.

“The financial strain is significant for both the counties and especially for Deuel County,” said Cheyenne County and Deuel County Attorney Paul Schaub. “You’re talking about a county with a population of approximately 2,000 that has seen unprecedented amounts of stops involving marijuana, sizable amounts of marijuana.”

In more than half of the 2014 possession cases in Deuel County, the marijuana seized had been bought in another state for medical purposes or at a retail store in Colorado.

It’s fairly easy for law enforcement to determine the origin of the marijuana it discovers these days.

“It’s usually in the dispensary packaging that has the name of the dispensary and the address of the dispensary on the packaging,” said Deuel County Sheriff Adam Hayward.

Instances of both felony drug cases and motorists driving under the influence of drugs (DUI-D) have risen in Cheyenne County and Deuel County during the past year.

“In Deuel County, our numbers are up considerably more,” Stellar said.

There have been about nine DUI-D cases in Deuel County this year.

“Eight or nine doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you have a very small, rural county like Deuel County, it is,” Stellar said.

The population of Deuel County as of the 2010 census was 1,941. Local law enforcement attribute the higher number of impaired drivers on the road to the availability of retail marijuana in Colorado, which began Jan. 1. Although those coming out of Colorado into Nebraska might think deputies or police are targeting them, law enforcement say they are not.

“Here, we’re dealing more with the local idiots that go down to Colorado, purchase whatever they want, come back here and smoke it,” said Cheyenne County Sheriff John Jenson. “Most of the time when we see it is when they sell it.”

Those who live in Colorado have no reason to bring marijuana into Nebraska, Jenson said. His office is attempting to stop locals from bringing more of the drug into Cheyenne County.

Hayward estimated that his deputies find 90 percent of their major marijuana cases during speeding stops.

“We had one the other day that was 112 miles per hour in a 75,” Hayward said. “You start using that product, you become extremely stupid.”

Although local law enforcement are trained to recognize impaired drivers, to lock down a court conviction of DUI-D for marijuana a Drug Recognition Expert should be present to test the suspect. The DRE puts the suspect through a number of exams to determine if the person was driving under the influence of marijuana or any other drug. The suspect will also be asked to submit to a chemical test to determine levels of the drug in his blood.

“But what he’s relying on is more than just the test results, the mere presence of marijuana in someone’s system doesn’t necessarily mean by itself that they were under the influence,” Schaub said.

This can be a problem in rural areas with limited resources like Cheyenne and Deuel counties.

There is only one DRE in Cheyenne County, a member of the Sidney police force. There are currently no DREs in Deuel County, although one deputy is working to get re-certified. This means that if deputies in Deuel County suspect a driver of DUI-D, they must call in the one DRE in Cheyenne County or the one DRE in Keith County. If neither of these are available, it makes it much harder for prosecutors to get a DUI-D conviction. Stellar believes that the number of DUI-Ds that actually take place in Deuel County are underreported. In the majority of felony marijuana cases in Deuel County, the drivers are under the influence of marijuana. In these cases, law enforcement pursues the felony charge instead of focusing on a DUI-D charge, which is a class W misdemeanor.

“We just don’t have the man power or the time or a DRE who’s available to do an investigation because they’re looking at a felony as opposed to a misdemeanor, law enforcement pursues the felony investigation and not necessarily the DUI one,” Stellar said.

Prosecution of these cases costs money and and man-hours.

“To enforce the laws, there’s the cost of justice,” Schaub said.

Border counties need assistance to deal with this problem, in Schaub’s opinion.

“That’s why we’re making the push to educate and bring in more recognition experts,” Schaub said. “I suspect that with the availability of marijuana on the rise that more and more people are going to take the chance, use it, drive and put others at risk.”

Both counties need the resources to continue to catch those driving under the influence and bringing marijuana into the state, Schaub said. Jenson is planning to send one of his deputies to be certified as a DRE.

“It is a resource that needs to be added to the sheriff’s office,” Jenson said.

DRE certification is a fairly lengthy process that requires 16 hours of DRE pre-school, 56 hours of DRE school and 40-60 hours of DRE field certification.

“It’s something that would probably take you four to six months from start to complete,” Hayward said.

In a more populated area, law enforcement entities would have a DRE on duty during every shift, 24 hours a day.

“Here, you’re calling somebody out of bed, they’re getting overtime, they may not even be available,” Stellar said. “It takes time. It takes at least an hour to an hour and a half to do the actual evaluation and then they have to do the report.”

This costs the counties extra money in overtime and training.

The Nebraska Attorney General’s office is assisting with some of the felony marijuana cases in Deuel County.

“They’re willing to provide services, they’re willing to assist us, and that’s important to me because I don’t want to use the fact that we’re being overwhelmed at times with these types of cases as an excuse not to prosecute that or any other case,” Schaub said.

The problems related to marijuana differ somewhat from county to county. Hayward’s deputies have more time to spend on the interstate than the deputies in Cheyenne County.

Hayward thinks that his deputies probably make fewer stops now than in years past, but simply discover drugs more often during those stops.

“And it’s so prevalent now because they’re not making an effort to hide it,” Stellar said.

In the past, it took more skill to find those transporting marijuana, because there would be hundreds of pounds of the drug in hidden compartments.

“Now it’s one or two pounds and it’s just out in the open,” Stellar said. “It’s to the point now that you make a stop and you can’t not smell it. It’s just there.”

Colorado receives federal funding to deal with DUI-Ds. Nebraska does not.

“They now receive federal funding to combat those,” Stellar said. “Where’s Nebraska’s? We don’t get any of that and we see them. And our DUI-Ds are a product of what’s going on in Colorado and the feds don’t recognize that.”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration awarded a $400,000 grant toward a campaigned to discourage stoned driving and to train more law enforcement officers to spot marijuana-impaired drivers, according to a January Denver Post article.

Jenson believes that those with the power to enact laws that will help local law enforcement deal with marijuana crimes in the area should do so.

“We need somebody who’s willing to stand up for what we believe in Nebraska and what’s right for Nebraska,” Jenson said. “When you’re talking about DUIs or DUI-Ds, that affects more than just the person behind the wheel.”

Some Nebraska state Senators are working to gather more information about these issues and to find possible solutions.

Legislative Resolution 520 was introduced to the Nebraska legislature in March by several Nebraska representatives, including Sen. Ken Schilz, who represents legislative district 47, which includes Sidney. The purpose of this resolution is to study the problems that the introduction of legal sales of recreational marijuana in Colorado have caused to Nebraska law enforcement agencies.

The resolution will include “an assessment of the adequacy of law enforcement in Nebraska counties that border Colorado” and “an evaluation of how affected counties can deal with the increased costs to the judicial system”

The resolution will also look into the adequacy of current fines and penalties in deterring the transportation of marijuana into Colorado.

The legislature will hold a hearing on this resolution on Sept. 8.