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.