OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – The Overland Park Police Department says it hasn’t seen an increase in fines or arrests since recreational marijuana became legal across the state line.
“It’s still early days,” spokesman John Lacy told FOX4 on Wednesday. “That law just recently passed and we know there are people who are probably buying in Missouri and taking it across the state line, but we haven’t seen an increase or a spike.”
Lacy said patrolling their portion of I-435 as drivers head west from Missouri toward Leawood and then Overland Park hasn’t been a priority yet.
“We have to have probable cause,” Lacy said. “In other words, they have to accelerate. They have to do an illegal lane change, stuff like that.
Lacy said their department has more important crimes to try to solve.
“We’re here to catch murderers and robbers and rapists, things like that. Those are really the priority for us,” she continued.
“I’m not saying marijuana isn’t a priority, but if you talk to any officer on the street, this is the type of crime they’re looking for, and it’s the type of crime we want to fight here in Overland Park.”
But Lacy said their numbers could change later.
A spokeswoman for the Kansas Highway Patrol said she hasn’t seen an increase in traffic stops in the past two-and-a-half weeks. You said the soldiers didn’t change their techniques.
A spokeswoman for the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Office said the same thing Wednesday.
While recreational marijuana became available for purchase in Missouri on Feb. 3, it’s still illegal to possess or consume it while you’re in Kansas.
