OCEAN CITY, MD — In a new initiative, the Ocean City Police Department hosted a "Green Lab" at the Ocean City Airport where volunteers consumed marijuana before driving on a controlled course. This unique experiment aims to better prepare officers for real-world incidents involving driving under the influence of marijuana.
The course simulates various driving scenarios, including U-turns, parking, backing into a spot, last-minute decision-making, and speed adjustments, to mimic everyday driving situations.
This initiative is the first of its kind on the East Coast, coinciding with the legalization of marijuana for recreational use in more states like Maryland. It serves to train Drug Recognition Experts (DREs) from multiple Worcester County departments as marijuana becomes more accessible. Departments represented included OCPD, Worcester County Sheriffs Office, Maryland State Police, and Montgomery County Police.
Sergeant Doug Smith, a DRE since 2005, says the training will be a massive benefit for public safety.
"Cannabis and alcohol, which is what we primarily train for levels of impairment, are not the same. The officers didn’t have the ability to train with this up until this point, and this training is bringing that directly to the officers," said Smith.
Even State Senator Mary Beth Carozza participated in the experiment, getting in a car with one of the volunteers, in what she says was to gain firsthand experience. She says that witnessing the training in action will help inform her perspective regarding marijuana laws statewide.
"This gives me the opportunity as a policymaker to see this training in action and then go back to law enforcement and states attorneys, asking how we can adjust our laws to keep people safe," stated Carozza.
The Ocean City Police Department aims to conduct more experiments like this in the future and will utilize the information and footage gathered for police training in Ocean City.
