The long-time controversy over marijuana legalization in Washington finally came to an end in 2012 when the state legislature passed Initiative 502. Four years later, WSU researchers are studying how it affected police operations.

WSU criminal justice and criminology professor Mary Stohr will lead a $1 million three-year study beginning January 1, 2017, to research the effects that the legalization has had on law enforcement and policing. The grant, from the National Institute of Justice, will look at policing in the state and how the criminal justice organization adjusted to this policy change.

Stohr said they are curious about how police changed their practices since the legalization and how it affected crime rate statistics.

“They have their boots on the ground,” Stohr said. “They face the implementation first.”

Stohr will be working with a team of professors from the WSU Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology and the WSU Division of Governmental Studies and Services. She said the team brings expertise in policy, law enforcement and corrections.

“They are strong in a number of different areas,” Stohr said.

Both Pullman Police Chief Gary Jenkins and Moscow Police Chief James Fry said at a joint city council meeting in July they have not noticed a significant increase in marijuana-related crimes.

“Locally we’re not seeing that big of a hit yet,” Jenkins said, “but it’s definitely something we watch out for.”

Corporal Matthew Kuhrt of the WSU Police Department said he does not think the policy affected law enforcement in Pullman because federal law prohibits marijuana.

“If something’s federally illegal,” he said, “we still can’t have that on campus.”

According to a 2015 news release from drugpolicy.org, violent crime rates decreased in Washington since the passage of I-502, while crime rates in other states that have not passed a similar initiative have remained stable. All categories of marijuana law violations in Washington are down 63 percent and marijuana-related convictions are down 81 percent.

One area where marijuana seems to be a problem, however, is with DUI incidents. According to a Washington State Toxicology Lab report, the percentage of DUIs involving marijuana in Washington increased from about 18 percent to 33 percent since 2012. Another set of WSU researchers is working to develop breathalyzers to measure marijuana intoxication of local residents and students.