“What we’re suspecting is just more small amounts of marijuana being transported down I-80 through Nebraska and to states that are east of Nebraska and Colorado”, Spohn said. “Colorado passed a similar initiative for recreational marijuana in the year 2012 and is now suffering a whole host of negative consequences”.
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The study confirmed reports from sheriffs and prosecutors that more people were being arrested and jailed for marijuana after the change in Colorado law, but the researchers said they couldn’t conclude whether the change was exclusively responsible for the uptick in arrests.
Since legalization in Colorado, Nebraska officials have tried to halt legal recreational use there in court.
He says one of the biggest problems they are running into now is there used to be deterrent from getting caught.
While the legal structure supporting marijuana sales would be quite different in each USA region, other states can begin to better understand the financial impact legalization would have on their states. A plurality – 47 percent – say legalization has been good, while an additional 9 percent say it hasn’t made a difference either way.
A study by the University of Nebraska at Omaha found marijuana arrests and incarcerations increased in Nebraska after it was legalized in Colorado. Suthers and City Council are on the path to completely abolish marijuana here, having adopted ordinances that require phasing out of pot clubs and reducing the number of plants patients can grow for their own medicinal use.
And Nebraska spent an estimated $10.2 million enforcing marijuana laws, an 11 percent increase over the previous year, the study found.
“Opponents of Amendment 64 told voters the state would fall apart if they approved Amendment 64, but they could not have been more wrong”, Tvert said.
The increase could be the result of increased enforcement efforts by Nebraska authorities, they said.
If Proposition 205 is voted, it will allow the people to receive marijuana at their homes.
John Ortolano, president of the Arizona Fraternal Order of Police, said the Colorado experience shows there are reasons for concerns about public safety if Arizona adopts a similar law.
In Colorado, cities can refuse to allow marijuana dispensaries.
The Colorado Department of Health says marijuana-related emergency room visits are up. That’s down from 25 percent in 2009, three years before legalization.
Montgomery said that with only a fine there is no such leverage.
“Prop 205 is chock full of special interests that guarantee that a few get rich, while the rest of us pay the price”, said Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk. Teen use is down, crime is flat and many other social and economic indicators are unchanged.
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Possession arrests had been stable before Colorado legalized marijuana but reached a six-year high in 2014, the study found. Sales arrests had been trending downward before increasing in 2014.
