Drug Recognition Experts and Destigmatized Cannabis Use: Evolving Law Enforcement Attitudes and Internal Policies in a Post Prohibition Era

The rapid rate of expansion of cannabis legalization, both medically and recreationally, across the United States has introduced substantial operational and policy challenges for local law enforcement agencies. As more states legalize recreational use, and the steady march continues toward Federal rescheduling (Collins et al., 2024), the need for effective and accurate ways of detecting cannabis impairment, particularly in the area of traffic safety, has grown substantially (Preuss et al., 2021). Federal rescheduling also has major policy, personnel, and human resources implications regarding the lawful employee use of cannabis for sworn personnel. In this article, I examine two issues that police executives and command staff officers should immediately begin to prepare for: Equipping agencies to enforce cannabis-related DUI offenses properly and more efficiently, as well as preparing for the eventuality of regulating off-duty cannabis use for active police officers.