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MARIJUANA CITATIONS INCREASE

Durango police found a plastic bag of marijuana on an intoxicated man who was banging on doors and causing a disturbance at the Strater Hotel last November.

"You can't arrest me! This ( expletive ) is legal," was how the man protested his arrest, according to a police report.

Colorado voters had just passed Amendment 64, legalizing recreational marijuana.

The simple possession of marijuana charge later would be dismissed, but people still are hazy about what the laws now mean.  More people in Durango have been cited for possession of marijuana this year than last year.

Through May 20, Durango police cited 28 people.  That compares with 15 citations for the same time period in 2012.

Durango Police Lt.  Ray Shupe said he did not have an opinion about the discrepancy.  He said police are enforcing the laws "still on the books," such as limiting marijuana possession to an ounce or less and prohibiting consumption in public or underage use, meaning younger than 21.

Lt.  Pat Downs, commander of the Southwest Colorado Drug Task Force, believes the problem is ignorance mixed with exuberance.

"Everything is not legal by Amendment 64.  I think that's something everyone needs to understand," said Downs, a lieutenant for the La Plata County Sheriff's Office.  "Just because Amendment 64 passed, it's not free reign for all things marijuana.

"A lot of people don't educate themselves on what the law allows.  They think it's all legal now, ( but ) there are specific parameters written into that law," he said.

Daniel LaCouture, a casual marijuana smoker and a professional disc jockey, said people do seem to think, "'Oh, it's legal, I can do whatever I want,' which is totally not true.  You can still get in trouble for smoking pot openly."

The recommended penalty for simple possession is a $100 fine and 15 hours of community service in the municipal court.

When Amendment 64 passed last year, people also assumed they immediately could buy it over the counter.  Some began showing up at medical marijuana dispensaries and asking for recreational pot, said Dennis DiCicco, a former employee of Natures Own Wellness Center.

They were told that recreational marijuana was not yet available for sale, but they still could apply for a medical marijuana card, said DiCicco, adding that Amendment 64 has been good for medical marijuana business.

State regulations on the sale of recreational marijuana are not expected to be ready until July.  Sales would not begin until next January, depending also on whether local governments choose to allow the sales.

Currently, people can get marijuana by growing it themselves.  It's now legal to cultivate up to six plants.

Getting some pot has become as easy as doing some yardwork for a friend who grows it, said LaCouture.  Life has become so much easier, he said.

"It means you don't need to spend that much money on it.  You don't have to meet a guy in the alley ( for pot )," LaCouture said.  "It's less worry in your life."

But Downs, commander of the drug task force, worries about the unintended consequences of Amendment 64.

"Number one being the increase of marijuana use from youth," Downs said.  "I also think there will be increased cross-state distribution of marijuana because it's easier to obtain it here.  Kids in New Mexico are going to come up here.  They will take it back to New Mexico and sell it for a profit."

More people will try to grow it in their house, Downs said

"I feel sorry for landlords," Downs said.  "People who don't know what they're doing can contribute to a destruction of the house.  Improper ventilation can contribute to mold, moisture problems within the house.  For marijuana to be grown successfully, there has to be sufficient humidity."

Attitudes about marijuana appear to be changing.  There's now a small national majority, 52 percent, in favor of legalization.  Support even comes from people who believe marijuana is harmful or feel uncomfortable with its use, according to a study recently published by the Brookings Institution.

LaCouture, 32, and DiCicco, 28, believe Amendment 64 has made for a more-honest and less-hypocritical society.  People are not afraid to say they're going to go home and unwind with a little grass.

But a 41-year-old Durango man who has lived here for 20 years said many marijuana users, including doctors, lawyers and businesspeople, would not want their information public.

"I think people are still really secretive about it," he said.

The man asked for anonymity to protect his family's privacy.  Since taking medical marijuana to ease the pain of Lou Gehrig's disease, a terminal illness, he has become a believer in pot.

"I couldn't sleep without it," he said.

Part of him wishes he was more open about it.

"I'm sick.  I don't plan to work again, but I still don't want my name out there.  It's weird, I know," he said.

He wants to see what's next for marijuana.

"These are interesting times.  I hope I live long enough to see it," he said.