photo by: AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File

In this May 20, 2019, file photo, marijuana plants sit in a grow room under green lights that are used to not wake the plants during their night cycle at Loving Kindness Farms in Gardena, Calif. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)

Now that recreational marijuana sales have started in Missouri, legal dispensaries are physically closer to Lawrence and Douglas County than ever before.

But law enforcement officials agree that the proximity likely won’t change the way marijuana is policed or prosecuted in the county. Prosecution for possession of small amounts of the drug remains rare in Douglas County. But driving while under the influence of marijuana is on law enforcement’s radar, and accidental overdoses by children and pets who get hold of gummies and other edibles is also a concern.

Missouri began selling recreational marijuana on Feb. 3 after voters approved a legalization measure called Amendment 3 in November 2022. Prior to the change in Missouri’s laws, the closest recreational marijuana dispensaries to Lawrence were a five-hour drive away just across the Missouri-Illinois border in the St. Louis metro area or a seven-hour drive to Denver.

Now, it is a 40-minute drive, with the nearest recreational dispensaries being just 36 miles away.

As reported by the Journal-World, Lawrence’s City Commission in the spring of 2019 worked to decriminalize marijuana by reducing fines to $1 for possessing less than 32 grams. And by October of that year, former Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson announced his office would stop filing criminal cases for simple marijuana possession offenses, a policy that has continued under the current district attorney, Suzanne Valdez.

“The District Attorney’s Office is not prosecuting simple possession cases when the substance is THC. We continue to prosecute distribution matters,” said the office’s spokesperson, Cheryl Cadue, in an email to the Journal-World in February.

While the fine for marijuana in Douglas County is only $1, that only applies to the first two offenses. In Lawrence, if prosecuted, the first two offenses are misdemeanor charges that come with a fine and court costs. A person convicted of a second offense is required to take a drug abuse evaluation and to follow the recommendations of that evaluation, which may include completing a drug abuse class or counseling, according to city code.

The situation changes with a third offense, though.

A third offense for possession of marijuana in Kansas is a level-5 drug felony and could result in a sentence of 10 to 42 months, depending on a person’s criminal history. Distribution or intent to distribute marijuana for an amount less than 25 grams is a level-4 felony and could result in a sentence of 14 to 51 months with increasing penalties based on the amount of marijuana in a person’s possession, according to the Kansas sentencing guidelines.

Prosecution of marijuana possession may be rare, but the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office wants residents to be aware of a different type of prosecution: DUI.

“We do not prioritize time or resources on marijuana and people who consume it in a RESPONSIBLE manner. However, our major concern is people who consume it while operating a vehicle or as a passenger in a vehicle, which could (interfere) with the driver’s ability to safely drive and endanger those in the vehicle and others on the road.” Sheriff Jay Armbrister said in an email to the Journal-World.

Driving under the influence is a misdemeanor offense for the first two convictions and comes with mandatory jail time and fines. Unlike a DUI for alcohol, though, there is no blood or breathalyzer testing done for marijuana and officers rely on field sobriety tests to determine if a person is too high to drive.

“When you get behind the wheel, you are risking the lives of all the other folks on that road, and that is not something we can or will overlook,” Armbrister said. “It’s much the same for alcohol. Consume responsibly and don’t drive, you will encounter no problems with us. Pretty simply: If you drink (or use)… don’t drive.”

Armbrister added that the office is much more concerned with dangerous drugs.

“I would say on our radar right now, this community has a fentanyl and heroin problem, and we are more concerned with disrupting that supply and the criminal elements behind it, due to the health dangers they can bring,” Armbrister said.

The Kansas Highway Patrol declined to answer questions about any increased enforcement or specialized training in recognizing high drivers, but KHP Public Information Officer Candice Breshears sent this statement about the recent change in Missouri’s law:

“Our agency is aware that some states have legalized recreational marijuana. Knowing this, the KHP has continued to remain focused on removing impaired drivers from Kansas highways and roadways, all while providing service, courtesy, and protection to the motoring public. We strive to provide our Troopers and other officers both in and out of State with the most current and reliable methods for removing impaired drivers from our roadways. We will continue to remain focused on these efforts,” Breshears said.

Beyond risking a DUI by smoking and driving, or a possession charge, the District Attorney’s Office pointed to another potential risk of marijuana products being so readily available: children accidentally consuming THC edibles.

Marijuana at dispensaries can come in a variety of forms, from the traditional “flowers” or “buds” to more powerful “waxes” and “oils” created by extracting THC from the plants. But one of the easiest ways to consume marijuana comes in the form of an “edible.”

By extracting THC from marijuana plants and cooking it into foods, marijuana can find its way into anything a person might eat. The most common of these edibles sold at dispensaries are gummy candies, hard candies, and chocolates.

The DA’s office pointed to a 2022 study from Dr. Marit Tweet, a medical toxicologist at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. Tweet’s study examined poison control center data between 2017 and 2021. According to the study, during that time the United States went from eight states allowing for recreational marijuana to 18 states.

“Since edibles such as gummies are so popular, the rate of children being admitted to the hospital for cannabis consumption has spiked,” Cadue said, citing the study.

The study found a total of 7,043 instances of children accidentally consuming edibles reported from 2017 to 2021. In 2017, just 207 such cases were reported; by 2021, that number had risen to 3,054. Of those exposures, 97.7% were found to be in a residential setting and 22.7% of those children were admitted to the hospital, with some requiring ICU treatment. However, no deaths have been reported due to marijuana overdose, according to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration.

The study points out that one of the causes of hospitalization is that marijuana edibles can be incredibly strong in small doses. A package of marijuana gummies sold at a Kansas City dispensary contains 10 gummy candies containing 10 mg of THC per candy, and the recommended serving size for an adult is just one small candy.

The Lawrence Police Department indicated it also is not devoting any additional resources to marijuana enforcement.

“Marijuana having been legal in Colorado for years lessens the impact our area will see as recreational marijuana laws roll out in Missouri,” said Sgt. Drew Fennelly with the department.

The department has occasionally run across instances where black market marijuana has been laced with hard drugs like fentanyl or PCP, but in general marijuana like that comes into the community from a single source in a large batch before being distributed, Fennelly said. He declined to comment as to whether or not marijuana from a Missouri dispensary would be safer and said that he is not familiar with how dispensaries are regulated for safety.

KU Police’s interim deputy chief, Damon Tucker, told the Journal-World that drugs and alcohol are a concern for campus police but that in 2022 there were only 25 reports involving marijuana and only 11 of those were recommended for charges.

Tucker said he would encourage students to educate themselves on the laws and regulations of any city or county where they plan to consume marijuana and that KU Police can provide resources to better educate students about using drugs and alcohol.

According to the Federal Student Aid website, drug offenses no longer disqualify students from being eligible for financial aid.

Editor’s note: This article was corrected to attribute comments that were sent via email to the Journal-World to Sheriff Jay Armbrister rather than to his spokesman.