Sheriffs from throughout the northern portion of Indiana, as well as state legislators, local officials and representatives from the Indiana Sheriff’s Association, came together Tuesday at the Porter County Sheriff’s Department to share their concerns.
Drugs, mental health issues and jails crowded with low-level offenders topped the issues presented at the roundtable, though part of the discussion also focused on concerns about the nationwide trend toward marijuana legalization.
The roundtable discussions, which are being held across the state, are part of an effort to build a legislative platform for the next couple of years, said Steve Luce, executive director of the sheriff’s association.
“Everything is counter-related. We all know the issues out there,” he said, adding the discussion was meant to focus both on concerns and what’s working.
Luce added that Porter County Sheriff David Reynolds will be president of the association in two years, and “it’s very important that he hears what’s going on.”
From Cass to St. Joseph counties, sheriffs noted the drug problems ravaging their communities, whether it was from opiates or methamphetamine; a lack of mental health facilities, which means departments spend already limited resources transporting people to facilities across or outside of the state; and jail populations burdened by low-level offenders.
“I’m a firm believer that we should arrest people we’re afraid of, not mad at,” said Starke County Sheriff Bill Dulin, adding low-level offenders are spending six months or more in jail.
He’s interested in “rocket docket” legislation already in place in Illinois and Kentucky that speeds drug offenders through the court system.
Pulaski County Sheriff Jeff Richwine said Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill has vowed to keep marijuana illegal, and he hoped legislators would look at the crime statistics for states where the drug is legal.
State Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso, said the legislature did approve the use of cannabidiol, or CBD, oil for use by children with epilepsy, but it has little if any THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, and that use fits within federal guidelines.
While polling suggests 60 percent to 65 percent of people favor legalizing marijuana, Soliday said, the issue requires more study, which would require a federal change in the drug’s classification so its short- and long-term effects could be thoroughly researched.
“There’s no rush to go out and legalize it,” he said, adding there has to be a push to counter positive messages about the drug. “The amount of public pressure is growing. I don’t think we’re bending to it.”
Amy Lavalley is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
