Portland police have issued citations to dozens of people for illegal marijuana possession since December despite a voter-approved ordinance aimed at legalizing small amounts of the drug.

Police Chief Michael Sauschuck said officers are not actively seeking violators and are given broad discretion when encountering the drug. But Sauschuck said they continue to enforce the state law against marijuana possession – just as he said officers would before Portland voters approved the measure in November 2013.

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In a report to a City Council committee, Police Chief Michael Sauschuck noted that officers issued more summonses in the 10 months after the legalization ordinance passed than in the corresponding 10-month period a year earlier. 2013 Press Herald File Photo/John Patriquin

In a report submitted to a City Council committee Tuesday night, Sauschuck noted that officers actually issued more summonses in the 10 months since the legalization ordinance passed than during the corresponding 10-month period one year earlier. The numbers are small for both years, however, and the vast majority of the summonses were given to people first stopped by police for other violations.

Officers issued 48 citations for possession of less than 2.5 ounces of marijuana between Dec. 6, 2013, when the city’s ordinance legalized pot possession for recreational use. That compares to 33 citations between Dec. 5, 2012, and Sept. 30, 2013, according to Sauschuck’s memo to the Public Safety, Health and Human Services Committee.

“While there is no question we had more citations in this time frame … I think officers are continuing to use discretion appropriately and judiciously,” Sauschuck said.

In an earlier interview, Sauschuck cast the figures in a broader perspective.

“You are talking about 48 citations,” Sauschuck said. “In that same 10-month period, Portland police officers responded to 69,545 calls for service.”

Portland is the first East Coast city where voters legalized pot possession for recreational use, although smoking pot in public is still prohibited even under the city ordinance. The city’s ordinance says adults age 21 and over can legally possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana. State law treats possession of less than 2.5 ounces of pot as a civil offense punishable by a fine.

The groups behind the Portland ordinance are waging similar referendum campaigns in Lewiston and South Portland this fall, and police in both communities have said they also will continue to enforce the state law against possession. Last November’s vote in Portland and the two this fall are viewed as potential run-ups to a potential statewide referendum in 2016 following successful legalization drives in Colorado and Washington.

“We are pretty disappointed that Chief Sauschuck continues to direct officers to punish adults for possession of a substance that is safer than alcohol,” David Boyer, Maine political director for the nationwide Marijuana Policy Project, said late Tuesday in repeating a theme of the campaign. “Sixty-seven percent of the voters last election didn’t want him to do that and want him to stop.”

According to Sauschuck’s report, 14 of the 48 citations in the last 10 months went to people who were under 21 or who were smoking pot in public, both of which are still be prohibited under the city’s legalization ordinance. The vast majority of the remaining summonses were issued as secondary offenses – meaning the officers discovered the drugs after stopping the individuals for other reasons.

Twelve of the adult offenders were charged with criminal offenses ranging from domestic assault to operating under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident. Officers issued 10 of the citations after traffic stops for such violations as driving the wrong way on a one-way street or operating a vehicle with expired registration or inspection stickers.

Others were cited for possession after being found passed out behind the wheel of a vehicle, for trespassing on private property and, in one case, for allegedly being involved in human sex trafficking.

“If you were arrested for something else, officers didn’t use discretion to give you a pass for possession of marijuana,” Sauschuck told committee members.

Asked whether his officers have seen an increase in marijuana possession since the ordinance passed – something that might indicate confusion about the law – Sauschuck said he did not have the data to say either way, but added that he did not believe pot possession was a serious issue either before or since the ordinance.

“I have been very forthright all along that Portland police officers are going to enforce the state law,” Sauschuck said.

Boyer said that police have the power to not enforce state law and that he hopes police in Lewiston and South Portland will take a different approach than in Portland if those two initiatives pass this fall.

“We are glad the city of Portland hasn’t put marijuana at the top of the priority list, but it shouldn’t be on the list at all after last November,” Boyer said.

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