Three Colorado counties want state money to fight pot problems in their areas

The Otero County sheriff says marijuana problems are starting to creep up in southeastern Colorado counties.

Otero, Bent and Crowley counties, which are all east of Pueblo, want state money to prevent future issues.

Otero County Sheriff Shawn Mobley said the counties want more than $200,000 from the Local Government Marijuana Impact Grant Program.

Mobley said he wants to hire a deputy who will focus on marijuana grows and train deputies on what to look for at the grows.

He also said he’s seeing an increased amount of pot edibles in the county, with people either delivering them out of state or kids getting hold of them.

He thinks edibles are coming from surrounding counties, like Pueblo and Las Animas, and he wants to educate kids on the effects of marijuana.

“Education is the biggest piece of this grant. We are putting in to bring in guest speakers and education programs into every school in all three counties,” Mobley said.

Ieshia Jiron, who is the general manager of the Leaf on the Mesa marijuana shop in Pueblo County, said she educates people on the effects of the marijuana products they’re buying and tells them about the pot laws. As for what happens outside the shop, she said that’s something she can’t control.

“Once they take that product home, it is their responsibility to keep that away from children. It’s also their responsibility to educate children on marijuana,” she said.

The state money is meant for counties that did not legalize the sale of recreational marijuana, but are experiencing the effects from surrounding counties that did legalize it.