Fort Collins, too, is negotiating the best way to implement and regulate legalization. “It’s really been a challenging issue,” Atteberry said. “Our current status and program is really a balancing act between protecting public health and safety while also recognizing the needs and will of the voters… We’re still in the very early stages of this process, and we’re still on a learning curve.”

One particular way the balancing act is playing out is with local law enforcement. “It’s a cultural change,” Timmons said. “For many, many years you’ve had this culture, particularly in law enforcement, that this is an illegal activity and an illegal drug. We kind of have to change that whole culture within the police agencies as to how they respond, how they react, how they manage and handle the issues that arise from their interaction with this in the community.”

The panelists shared that in their communities officers have undergone re-training efforts to better understand legal marijuana use, with some agencies even retraining K-9 units to no longer signal when they smell the drug. Timmons said the biggest effort for law enforcement is to disengage the old ways of thinking, which are no longer legally valid.

On the internal side of the equation, local governments must also consider how legalization will affect their employment policies. Federally, marijuana is still considered a schedule one controlled substance, which allows public employers to prohibit employees from using marijuana, regardless of its local legality, said Kirchhoff. However, he predicts this prohibition is on the way out.

If the legal status changes at the federal level, which Kirchhoff said is “right around the corner,” this will be the first time in history where cities and counties will have to shift “almost overnight from treating marijuana as a criminal issue and event to supporting it as a medical opportunity or option for employees in their workforce.” 



Kirchhoff said this could lead to a cultural clash within organizations, but offers a threefold solution to the problem.

He said first, drug policies should be re-written to become more specific and comprehensive. Then, cultural issues within management must be addressed to accept the fact that marijuana use is indeed legitimate, and its users should not be discriminated against professionally or personally. The third prong, he said, should be employee education about marijuana, and their options and responsibilities with it.



Marijuana legalization is a touchy subject, and brings with it controversy. If you have an opinion on the drug’s legalization or use as it pertains to local government, please share it in the comments box below.

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