Pubdate: Thu, 10 Jun 2010
Source: Pueblo Chieftain (CO)
Copyright: 2010 The Pueblo Chieftain
Contact:  http://www.chieftain.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1613
Author: Nick Bonham

POLICE CHIEFS TALK CRIME

Med pot laws took the forefront at the conference.

Medical marijuana, drug trafficking, access/sharing  databases of
criminal information were a few topics  discussed at the annual
Colorado Association of Chiefs  of Police convention held in Pueblo
this week.

More than 80 municipal law enforcement leaders in  Colorado are in
town for the five-day conference that  concludes today at the Pueblo
Convention Center.

Medical marijuana was a contentious issue in the past  legislative
session.

While CACP meetings cover numerous topics and issues,  special
attention was paid to medical marijuana this  year.

"This (conference) is a little bit more involved  because of medical
marijuana. It's a complicated bill,  so we want our members to be
informed and have an  understanding," Wheat Ridge Chief of Police Dan
Brennan, a CACP board member, said Wednesday.

Dispensaries and growers were reined in Monday when  Gov. Bill Ritter
signed a pair of bills to control the  boom in the medical marijuana
industry.

The bill, which took effect immediately, sets statewide  regulations.
But it also granted local governments  regulatory powers.

Pueblo police Chief Jim Billings said the association  was pleased
about the regulations, especially at the  local level.

"We (the CACP) wanted the ability to have control  locally," Billings
said, adding the new law allows  counties and cities the ability to
ban dispensaries.

"There's too much opportunity with the dispensary model  for people
who don't need medical marijuana for medical  purposes, to use it to
just get high."

Billings said the training he and police leaders  received at the
convention on the new medical marijuana  laws will be used to train
officers.

The conference also featured presentations from the  federal Drug
Enforcement Agency and FBI.

Training classes were closed to the public and media,  but Brennan and
Billings said the DEA and FBI agents  from Washington, D.C., explained
programs and gave  updates about national and international drug
trafficking rings and terrorist organizations operating  on American
soil.

There were also workshops on improving department  leadership and
ethics.

The CACP has about 130 members. 
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