A press conference, called by those who oppose the legalization of recreational use of marijuana, collided at the Capitol on Wednesday, with those in favor of the action as the informational forum unraveled into a shouting match between SAMMn ,which stands for Smart Approaches to Marijuana, Minnesota, an anti-legalization group, and pro-pot activists which also included a call for the de-criminalization of pot among Minnesota law enforcement.
Dakota County Attorney, James Backstrom and Dakota County Sheriff Tim Leslie attended the press conference which was held to state their agreement of opposition to reducing legal consequences for use of marijuana, which, they argue, would increase impaired driving, magnify addictive behaviors and provide a slippery slope to the use of other drugs, especially among young people.
Examples of food products containing canabis, chocolates, gummy candy and the like were also described as endangering young children who ingest them and suffer physical harm from toxic effects. Opponents also pointed to case evidence involving reaction times and physical limitations documented in vehicle operation that resulted in injury or death of innocent victims involved in crashes where a driver had THC in their system.
Shortly after the event began, comments from supporters elevated to pointed accusations that persons of color were disproportionately targeted for traffic stops, using the excuse of the odor of marijuna as license to accelerate minor infringements into larger cases.
In July, Minneapolis law enforcement were called to back away from protocol that appeared to target poor, black men who were proven to be arrested by Minneapolis police over 5 times more often than white offenders in the same city.
One supporter at Wednesday’s event, directed his comments about racial targeting directly at Backstrom and Leslie, accusing law enforcement in Dakota County of racism and profiling against minority populations especially when it came to marijuana involvement. We have asked both to provide additional information and will feature their responses in an upcoming newscast.
