Sergeant Jon Wu, supervisor in the Vice Unit of the Grand Rapids Police Department, says as the state heads to potentially legalizing recreational marijuana the department is preparing to increase enforcement.
“The way that some of the proposals are written now, there is going to be a pretty high tax on the marijuana that’s grown, and when you have a high tax on something you begin to have a black market in that to avoid that tax.”
Officer JP Guerrero of the Grand Rapids Police Department says that if recreational marijuana is legalized there could be an increase in car accidents.
“In the state of Colorado there is data since they legalized marijuana that the fatal car crashes have gone up in 145 percent from Marijuana use and or other drugs.”
As the November elections near, officers like Wu and Guerrero are preparing to take a hands-on approach in ensuring recreational use of marijuana follows the city and state regulations.
For WGVU News, Michelle Jokisch Polo. Mariano Avila contributed to this story.
