Pubdate: Tue, 31 Dec 2013
Source: Kansas City Star (MO)
Copyright: 2013 The Kansas City Star
Contact:  http://www.kansascity.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/221
Author: Brian Burnes And Joe Robertson, The Kansas City Star

COLORADO POT SHOPS OPEN FOR BUSINESS

Beginning today, you can cross into Colorado for a perfectly legal,
stupefying, all-cannabis Rocky Mountain High.

Just beware what you bring home.

Recreational pot remains fully illegal in 48 other states (including
Kansas and Missouri, but not Washington state).

So don't try bringing any of it back to Kansas City. And driving back
with even just a buzz isn't only unsafe, influence of the weed while
behind the wheel is a crime in Colorado and carrying a stash east over
the border gives the cops reason to lock you up.

What's more, carrying home a hint of pot in your system could create a
problem if you work for someone who's likely to test for the drug, or
if you're looking for a new job that screens applicants.

What's less clear is how law enforcement in western Kansas might crack
down on tourists who bring marijuana across the Colorado/Kansas line.

"The Kansas Highway Patrol and police agencies out near the border are
really looking hard for people who are bringing marijuana into the
state from Colorado," said Brian Leininger, a Leawood criminal defense
attorney who represents clients charged with drug and driving under
the influence offenses.

Lt. Josh Kellerman, Kansas Highway Patrol public information officer,
disagreed.

"We have made (troopers) aware that the change in the law is going
into effect, but it's not something we have spent a lot of time on,"
Kellerman said. "It is still illegal in Kansas and we are not telling
anybody to change their enforcement standard."

Colorado state law, as of today, allows customers to legally purchase
pot from state-licensed retailers purely for the high.

Medicinal marijuana, purchased legally in the state with a
prescription, has been around for several years even though it was
largely beyond the reach of visitors to the state. About a dozen legal
pot dealers are expected to begin selling in Denver today, with about
20 others opening elsewhere.

Customers must be 21 years old to buy. Adults with a valid Colorado
identification card can purchase as much as 1 ounce. Nonresidents can
purchase as much as a quarter ounce.

Anyone younger than 21 caught using marijuana is subject to potential
jail time and fines.

Smoking marijuana in public is illegal in Colorado. Also, lighting up
on federal property is against the law -- something to remember if you
will be visiting one of Colorado's 13 national parks.

Kansas City area residents who work for employers who enforce drug
testing, or residents who may be under court-supervised probation,
might want to think twice, Leininger said.

"It is not an excuse," he said, "that you used marijuana legally in a
legal state."

Also, don't operate a vehicle after indulging at length.

"Don't drive under the influence," said Coulter deVries, a Kansas City
lawyer who devotes about half his practice to clients facing driving
while intoxicated, drug-related offenses or issues regarding
commercial driver's licenses.

Under Colorado law, drivers found to have 5 nanograms or more of THC
per milliliter in their bloodstream can be ticketed for impaired
driving. THC is the active ingredient in cannabis.

While the federal government has declined to challenge the state law,
approved by Colorado voters in 2012, federal prosecutors still will
target trafficking of marijuana across state lines and its sale to
minors.

Kellerman, of the Kansas Highway Patrol, said that his colleagues "may
see an influx" of marijuana, "but we are telling our people to operate
as normal."

Sgt. Bill Lowe of the Missouri Highway Patrol agreed.

"Nothing has changed in Missouri," Lowe said. "Whether you are from
Colorado or not, you can't have it here."

The Kansas Highway Patrol made 468 felony trafficking arrests and
seized nearly 7,000 pounds of marijuana in 2012, according to The
Associated Press.

The agency also seized 2,654 pounds and arrested 187 people during the
first five months of 2013. A highway patrol analysis of 133 arrests
made through early 2013 showed that 79 seizures were of marijuana
traced to Colorado. Marijuana traced to California -- where it's legal
to buy and sell for medical purposes -- was next at 35 seizures.

Missouri Highway Patrol troopers, meanwhile, continue to make the drug
arrests that begin as traffic stops. In November, a trooper who pulled
over a driver in Cooper County for apparent driving irregularities
ultimately arrested the 64-year-old South Carolina man, who was
discovered to have more than 100 pounds of marijuana in his vehicle.

On Tuesday, Denver police were adding extra patrols around pot shops
in eight Colorado towns that plan to allow recreational sales
beginning today. Officials at Denver International Airport installed
new signs warning visitors their weed can't legally go home with them.

For now, anyone venturing from Kansas in search of legal marijuana
will have to travel deep into Colorado to the Denver area to find the
first licensed dealers, according to a list in The Denver Post. 
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