Canadians could soon be allowed to legally purchase marijuana and that has caught the attention of some law enforcement officers in Montana.
Montana Highway Patrol Sgt. Jim Sanderson said law enforcement across the state has seen an increase of marijuana in the state now that some nearby states have legalized the drug.
“We saw an immediate impact when Colorado legalized marijuana and we’ve seen the same with Washington and Oregon,” he said.
Colorado became the first state in the nation to legalize marijuana in 2012 and commercial sales of the drug began two years later. Since then, Washington, Oregon and Alaska have followed suit. Last year, during Canada’s federal election, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to legalize marijuana and, now that he’s taken office in Ottawa, many expect him to push legislation to legalize the drug this year.
Sanderson believes if Canada legalizes weed that it would have an impact on Montana.
“Anytime there is a legal means to get a substance there is a lot of profit to be had to divert that drug to an area where it’s illegal,” he said.
The highway patrolman said 2015 saw a significant increase in marijuana traveling through the state, much of it from Washington. In 2014, MHP took possession of 186 pounds of marijuana but in 2015 it took possession of 730 pounds. He said most of what MHP confiscates are large shipments going to Wisconsin, Illinois, New York and New Jersey.
John Barnes, spokesperson for the Montana Department of Justice, said Canadian marijuana legalization is on the agency’s radar.
“If it happens I think law enforcement would take a look at it, but generally speaking it wouldn’t change our operations,” he said. “As far as Montana law enforcement is concerned, marijuana is illegal under federal law and illegal in most situations under state law, so we’ll still enforce the law.”