The Missouri Sheriffs Association has come out against the use of medical marijuana.
During a meeting last August in Branson, the association’s 115 sheriffs voted overwhelmingly to oppose any measure, legislation or initiative that would make medical – or recreational – marijuana legal in Missouri.
“The association respects individual sheriffs taking an opposing view on the issue,” said association president and Grundy County Sheriff Rodney Herring. “However, those views are in no manner to be construed as the views or opinions of the Missouri Sheriffs Association stance on the issue of the legalization of medical or recreational marijuana in Missouri.”
Texas County Sheriff James Sigman said he believes the issue is more complicated than it might seem on the surface.
JAMES SIGMAN
“I feel the term ‘medical marijuana’ is being used as a gateway to open up the legality of marijuana,” Sigman said. “I do believe there probably are legitimate medical purposes for marijuana or cannabis oils, and I’m not opposed to the true medical side of it.
“But I’m very much against the recreational part of it.”
Sigman cited the situation in Colorado as an example.
“They’re have a very big problem,” he said. “They want to talk about all the tax dollars it’s creating, but what they won’t report is the amount of money it has cost fighting what legalized marijuana has created, with the increased driving while impaired cases, overdoses and so forth.
“They want to report the tax revenue being up, but not the burden it has put on law enforcement and the medical field. They’re not giving you numbers on that.”
Sigman said law enforcement in Colorado surely isn’t seeing any benefit from the alleged increase in tax revenue.
“It’s supposedly a huge amount of money,” he said, “but none of that is coming back to law enforcement to fight the animal they’ve created.”