Police discuss sexual assault, marijuana

The Pullman and WSU police departments met last night to swap information about current projects and collaborative work that involve both the county and the university. Among topics of discussion were Sexual Assault Awareness Month and state laws regarding marijuana.

The meeting, which took place in City Hall, convened the Pullman Police Advisory Committee and the WSU Police Advisory Board.

Pullman Police Chief Gary Jenkins announced the city and county will begin to take part in the WSU emergency notification system. Jenkins said this improves the department’s ability to respond to incidents by providing more detailed information about geographic locations.

In recognition of April, which is designated Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Pullman Police Detective Scott Kirk discussed instances of sexual assault and how investigators handle those cases.

Kim Barrett, another member of the Pullman Police Advisory Committee, asked how many instances of sexual assault take place in Pullman in an average year. Kirk said about 30 cases have been reported since January 2013. He said the relationship between that number has remained consistent with population growth.

In a presentation about Initiative 502, the act that legalized marijuana in the state of Washington, Jenkins provided an overview of current laws on marijuana use and what his department expects to see when retail dispensaries are built in Pullman.

He said marijuana is still largely obtained through illegal channels.

“We still see a huge market in the black market,” he said.

Jenkins attributed this phenomenon to the higher price of legally purchased marijuana. Each level of distribution will accumulate a 25 percent tax. He said the department expects established legal retailers to provide more information about competing with local illegal distributors.

WSU Police Chief Bill Gardner emphasized that although marijuana is legal in the state, it remains banned on campus due to the land-grant status of the university, which receives federal funding.

“We need to have a policy that says you can’t have marijuana or any drug on campus if we want to keep getting money,” Gardner said.