Hello readers!
I recently had the opportunity to interview Chief John Jackson of Greenwood Village, Colorado. I want to first say how much we appreciate the role of law enforcement in the community and see them as a viable ally for our efforts.
I have to admit, it is not an everyday occurrence I get to ask a Chief of police about their perspective on what’s happening with marijuana in Colorado. I found it to be a bit intimidating but also very fascinating.
I asked him questions ranging from broad comments on the topic to specific suggestions he may have about how we go forward with this new Colorado.
Chief Jackson’s quote regarding how Colorado got to this point says it all:
“We went from 0 to 100 MPH overnight and were given an artificial date with nothing in the world to base it off of.”
To me, this makes complete sense as it is clear that big industry is running rampant and nearly unchecked.
When Chief Jackson expressed “we are not ready” to the Governor, the Governor responded by saying “The voters have spoken and we are going to meet our deadlines to do this.”
This is not surprising to me as it is clear that leadership has not been built on methodical decision making.
Other comments also made it clear that the unknowns of what legalization would do were truly unimaginable and not thought out.
Chief Jackson stated:
“We didn’t know about edibles and dabbing.”
“The epitome of we don’t know what we do not know.”
“We didn’t have any case law.”
Again, none of these statements are surprising to me and really it is not a reflection on law enforcement at all, it is proof that big industry took advantage of expanding into a market where they made the rules. I can say this confidently as outlined in previous blogs, we know big industry essentially owns the market on the lobbyists that expand their empire on their behalf.
During my conversation with Chief Jackson I was also curious about where we go from here? I wondered if Colorado was doomed for the fate I fear, or if he had any comments about where we go from here.
Chief Jackson’s comments for the future were:
“Boils down to we started wide and now it is time to start tightening it up.”
“More regulation and more pulling back.”
I happen to like both of these concepts, particularly as a way to keep Colorado from being the commercialization capital of the country, if it already isn’t perceived that way.
Chief Jackson echo’s our perspective when it comes to medical marijuana, he stated “I see potential value in medical CBD, with low THC levels.” As I have also stated in previous blogs, the medical marijuana innovations are completely different than commercialization; industry tries to have it both ways by taking advantage of the general public’s non-medical expertise.
In closing, I can’t thank Chief John Jackson enough for his bravery, leadership and true concern for his community.
