Sheriff concerned over legal pot

Livingston County Sheriff Tony Childress is calling on state lawmakers to act on safety concerns he and other sheriffs have with the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act being debated in Springfield.

Childress claims the draft of the bill contains several provisions which create plenty of enforcement challenges.

“The bill is being rushed and profits and politics are being put over the public’s safety,” Childress said in a news release. “The sheriffs across Illinois have raised legitimate concerns about the increases we will see in impaired driving, crime and addiction.”

According to Childress, sheriffs believe public safety threats must be addressed in Senate Bill 7 if legalization moves forward, such as impaired driving, creased crime, mass expungement and insufficient resources to keep communities safe.