Chicago Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi has said that police officers will have a “heightened awareness” of the city’s pot shops when the drug is legalized on New Year’s Day.
He added that the police will not be looking to ticket revelers for getting high outside. “We are not focused on that at all,” said Guglielmi.
The city’s police officers have been directed to simply inform offenders of the new rules when they take effect instead of taking punitive actions. Guglielmi said the officers are “interested in violence.”
The police will also be on the lookout for any individuals who are looking to rob dispensary customers who are standing in lines.
Gugleilmi has said that these customers make “attractive street robbery targets” because they’ll likely be carrying large amounts of weed and money near the largely cash-only businesses.
“Any officer who has a dispensary in their beat, they’re going to make contact with that business and they’re going to be maintaining a heightened presence while they’re not answering other calls for service,” he added.
