Schools, Parks, Police, Health Officials Prepare For Marijuana Prevalence

Local organizations and groups ranging from school systems to parks departments to law enforcement to health officials are preparing for the expanded prevalence of marijuana in the coming months, following voters’ legalization of recreational pot in November and a wave of dispensaries planned to open soon across the region.

While Michigan’s new laws still prohibit using marijuana in public and ban the substance for anyone under the age of 21, officials say the impact of easy availability of pot will likely be felt throughout the community. “We anticipate it will (change things), but we are still figuring out exactly how,” says Health Officer Wendy Hirschenberger of the Grand Traverse County Health Department.

A recent Grand Traverse County Substance Abuse Assessment found that the number of local high school students who reported “it was easy to get marijuana” skyrocketed from 10.6 percent in 2008 to 55.5 percent in 2018, with the number of students who had used pot in the last 30 days rising from 11.4 percent in 2008 to 21.8 percent in 2018. Middle-school student usage doubled from 2.4 percent to 4.1 percent in the same period. “Ease of access has dramatically increased for Grand Traverse County high school students,” the report found. “Access will increase further with the Michigan marijuana law change in 2019.”

According to the report, marijuana is the second most-abused substance for high schoolers after alcohol, with 24 percent of all Michigan students reporting they were current pot users in 2017. Most troubling to Hirschenberger is the growing number of local middle-school students who have used synthetic marijuana at least once – 11.2 percent in 2018, compared to only 8 percent of high-school students. “Synthetic marijuana has a lot more serious side effects and concerns that go with it,” she says. “It’s used in vaping. It’s definitely an area our two adolescent clinics have been focusing on with Kingsley (Area Schools), TCAPS (Traverse City Area Public Schools), and TBAISD (Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District).”

As the school year wrapped up earlier this month, Traverse City West Senior High School administrators sent a warning to parents for the summer about the increasing popularity of dab pens, small devices that are easily concealed and deliver doses of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The crystalline compound is the main active ingredient in cannabis; in concentrated form, it is significantly more potent than plant-based marijuana. West leaders reported instances of students using or sharing dab pens at school and “having a bad reaction characterized by pale skin, increased heart rate, paranoia, and an inability to interact with other people…of concern is how discreet the use of a dab pen can be.” School officials reminded parents that regardless of the recent legalization of marijuana, marijuana and THC products “remain banned on school campus for students and persons of all ages.”

That message is also being repeated on campus at Northwestern Michigan College (NMC). Because the college has a significant number of students over 21, who can now legally use marijuana, NMC is changing its approach to enforcement. Marijuana is still prohibited on any of NMC’s campuses or in its housing units, in part because the college receives federal funding and thus is “bound by federal guidelines” treating it like an illegal controlled substance, according to Dean of Students Lisa Thomas. But instead of calling the Traverse City Police Department when students over 21 are found in possession, as was previously the case, NMC will now handle those cases internally. “We would address it through our judicial affairs process…a violation could (result in) anything from a warning all the way through asking them to receive education counseling to being removed from housing or campus if there are repeat violations,” Thomas says.

Traverse City Police Department Chief Jeff O’Brien confirms the police department will no longer respond to cases involving students over 21, though underage pot users can be charged with a civil infraction. The penalty for underage use is a fine of $100 or community service and – in the cases of those under 18 – the completion of drug education classes. Regardless of age, anyone caught using marijuana in public also faces a $100 civil infraction under state law. With summer crowds arriving in Traverse City and events that draw hundreds of thousands of people to town – like the upcoming National Cherry Festival – O’Brien notes that those caught smoking pot outdoors or in public spaces can be ticketed by police officers.

“It’s a crime,” he says. “We’re going to take enforcement action, just like we would with anything else. We’re not going to overlook it.”

Local municipalities are also taking the extra step to emphasize in their ordinances that public pot usage is not allowed – particularly in parks and at beaches. Traverse City commissioners recently amended the city’s parks rules to ban all marijuana use, in addition to tobacco, in public parks or designated beach areas. They did so on the recommendation of City Attorney Lauren Trible-Laucht, who warned that lawsuits are likely forthcoming challenging what a “public” space is. For example, is someone’s private patio or porch that’s in public view considered public or private? Does public specifically only mean publicly-owned property? To sidestep those gray areas, municipalities like Traverse City are adding definitions to their own ordinances supplementing the state’s laws to make it “very clear” what’s allowed, Trible-Laucht said.

Grand Traverse County Parks and Recreation commissioners also passed new rules this month banning marijuana and THC usage on county park property. Violating the rules can result in a misdemeanor carrying up to a $100 fine or 90 days in Grand Traverse County Jail. Parks and Recreation Director Kristine Erickson says she’s had a few complaints regarding pot usage in parks, but that so far the problem has been largely contained. Should parks start seeing more issues in the coming year, however, as new dispensaries start popping up – Traverse City alone has 13 that could open in the next five months – Erickson says commissioners could consider further options to respond.

“I believe our board will cross that bridge when we come to it,” she says. “There isn’t much precedent for dealing with anything like this. It’s kind of like the wild, wild west.”