Is Legal Pot Hurting Police Officer Recruiting? Find Out Why

It's a problem for Grant County officials, but also showing up in other states where pot has been legalized.

According to the Columbia Basin Herald, perspective candidates for police officer positions are being turned away because they're failing the drug test. It used to be, before legalized pot, that applicants could self-divulge previous pot use, if they hadn't done some in five years, and could pass the test.

Now, that number has been dropped to one year, due to legalized pot. It's the same criteria and State Patrol candidates. But officials now say, for example, they've had perspective candidates tell them they used it four months ago, and Grant County officials have had to say, 'see you in another year.' Other departments are reporting similar issues across the state, as well as in Colorado.

Officials say between 55 and 60% of the applicants for Grant County Sheriff's positions fail because they cannot meet the one year criteria for no recreational drug use. And, officials who teach Criminal Justice at Columbia Basin College remind the 21-and-under students NO drug use, recreational or not, is allowed.

Although some critics nationally are saying with 'relaxed' recreational drug laws, police testing is too stringent, officials counter by saying due to the responsibility of the job law enforcement can be 'pickier' about poking into the private lives of potential workers.