After legislation was passed last month making THC-infused edibles legal, police officers around the state have reported that they are playing "catchup" in order to understand and enforce the law.
Jeff Potts, the Executive Director of the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association, told News Talk 830 WCCO's Adam Carter that they were not involved in the process and now are dealing with a highly complex situation.
Potts said the state was moving towards legalizing THC-infused products for recreational use, but it happened much quicker than expected.
"This one kind of came out of the blue, so we were a bit surprised to see it made it all the way through," Potts said of the legislation passing on July 1.
One particular issue that Potts says has raised concern is the THC-infused beverages. The officer said currently, it's unclear how to enforce someone drinking a THC-infused beverage while driving.
"Minnesota law on open containers specifically addresses an alcoholic beverage, not something that doesn't have alcohol in it," Potts said.
So when it comes to whether or not someone would be breaking the law, Potts said that as it stands, it is legal.
Right now, Potts said that law enforcement agencies are waiting to receive guidance from the Department of Public Safety as they work to understand the law and learn how to enforce it.
Another problem is retailers who are selling both legal and illegal products. Potts said they don't have much incentive to stop selling the more potent product, given a lack of funding for enforcement of the law. But he also said it could be that they just don't understand the law.
"I think there are people trying to figure out what's legal and what's not in these shops," Potts said. "Because it happened very quickly, the state and the regulatory systems are trying to play catchup and figure out what can be sold."
Legislation from years prior made certain items legal to possess, but Potts says the issue is that it is still illegal to be sold, creating another wrinkle in the complexity of the law.
Potts says the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and the Pharmacy Board control the licensing of the product making.
"Law enforcement does obviously play a role in it, but in terms of the regulatory side of it, that's controlled largely from the [Pharmacy Board] and Department of Agriculture," Potts said.
When it comes to finding out if someone is operating a vehicle while under the influence of a substance, Potts said that law enforcement was hoping for some form of test like they use for alcohol detection to be passed, but nothing came of it.
"The legislation didn't pass that particular bill, but they did pass the edibles bill, and here we are now in a position of trying to ramp up our efforts to train officers," Potts said. He added that they are working to make "drug recognition experts available to law enforcement so that they can try to gauge the level of impairment with someone who may be under the influence of a controlled substance."
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