OLCC Will Get Pot Cops—But With Limited Power

By AARON MESH

Here come the pot cops.

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission is poised to get a team of law-enforcement officers to oversee recreational marijuana. But the powers of the weed police will be restricted from what the agency initially requested.

The OLCC has struck an agreement with leaders of the nascent pot industry, outlining the scope of the agency's authority over recreational pot.

The deal, presented last week to the Oregon Legislature, shows that the OLCC's marijuana "peace officers" will be given oversight of recreational pot growers and stores.

But the agency has pledged to limit its policing power to the actions of businesses licensed through the OLCC. Officers won't be able to inspect home grows or cite people breaking the law by smoking weed in public.

That's far less authority than the OLCC has over booze—where its officers can bust underage drinking on college campuses. (The OLCC's liquor officers don't carry guns. Neither will the pot cops.)

The agreement also makes clear that pot cops can't also be liquor police or co-sworn as officers of any other police force.

The deal reflects the harsh blowback the OLCC received two months ago, when it first brought the pot-cop plan to legislators.

That debut, in the wake of the agency's firing of marijuana czar Tom Burns, was a debacle. Lawmakers not only scoffed at the pot-policing plan, but questioned whether the OLCC should have its law-enforcement authority over alcohol curtailed.

OLCC spokesman Tom Towslee says the agency's ambitions for pot-cop power were misconstrued.

WWeek 2015

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