Prop. 64 creates more problems for law

Since the passage of Proposition 64 last year, which legalized cannabis in California, the task of enforcing drug violations involving marijuana related offenses has been significantly tougher for all law enforcement agencies in the state, especially in the City of Porterville.

A t Thursday’s Governmental Affairs Meeting, which is put on by the Porterville Chamber of Commerce, Porterville Police Department Chief Eric Kroutil elaborated on several issues officers have been running into, the primary one involving marijuana and juveniles.

Kroutil said the police department has been getting numerous reports of students smoking marijuana in bathrooms on school grounds and noted that there have been changes in how officers can handle these incidents.

“There are certain things that we are not allowed to do,” Kroutil said.

Under Health and Safety Code 11357, California’s marijuana possession law, Kroutil said officers can no longer arrest anyone under 18 who is in possession of

‘There are certain things we are not allowed to do.”

marijuana. He said it is now only an infraction, even if it is on school grounds.

“That is going to be problematic for us,” Kroutil said, adding that if students are in possession of under an ounce on school grounds the most they would get is four hours of counseling and 10 hours of community service. “That is for their first offense.”

For the next offenses, Kroutil said students would receive eight hours of counseling and up to 40 hours of community service.

Kroutil said the issue with students using marijuana is also being seen at the elementary school age as well.

“One issue we are seeing an increase in is with some of these juveniles, their parents are not seeing much of a problem with it,” Kroutil said. “The parents use marijuana, and don’t get too upset when their children are caught using marijuana.”

What’s more is that, according to Senate Bill

395 which takes effect Jan. 1, 2018, Kroutil said anyone 15 years old or younger in possession of marijuana cannot be questioned by law enforcement officials until they have consulted with a lawyer.

Kroutil said there is also a growing concern with how to enforce the law on people driving with marijuana in their system.

Unlike alcohol, where one can be charged with DUI if their blood alcohol content (BAC) is .08 percent or higher, Kroutil said there are no such standards for marijuana. For arrests of persons who are driving under the influence of marijuana, he said a positive blood test result for THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, will not necessarily define the level of impairment for a driver.

“They are working on it, but there is nothing like that,” he said.

Kroutil said it feels there is less stigma attached to marijuana than there is smoking a cigarette, which he believes will cause more jurisdictions to be more accepting of it.