Reversal of fortune
Reversing course on the pointless and destructive war on drugs, at least with respect to marijuana, looks like the best chance cops have at getting a raise and the best chance agencies and municipalities have of retaining personnel and attracting new hires.
It’s pretty shocking just how fast things can change. Just 10 years ago Colorado law enforcement agencies were aggressively pursuing marijuana enforcement. That made sense because a lot of the funds available to local law enforcement from the federal government were based on drug enforcement metrics. But man how times have changed. Articles about local law enforcement professionals getting big raises are virtually impossible to find these days with the possible exception of Boston where cops were recently awarded compensation parity with local firefighters. But another place where police officers stand to get a better deal is Denver. In the Mile High City crime is down and tourism and revenue are way up. It’s not hard to figure out where the money that’s now available for public safety raises came from – it’s the “weed revenue.” This is a tough time for the DEA and others – Colorado legalizes marijuana and not only does crime go down but the cops get raises? That’s the kind of thing that can make a dyed in the wool drug warrior’s head explode.
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