The Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo runs July 18-27, 2014. (AAron Ontiveroz, Denver Post file)

Cheyenne Frontier Days’ proximity to Colorado pot not a big worry

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Organizers of Cheyenne Frontier Days and local police don’t see a cause for specific concern about wider use of marijuana bought legally next door in Colorado.

CFD Security Committee chairman Hoy Myers said he isn’t planning any particular precautions to screen for marijuana use during the rodeo, which begins this weekend.

“We know there’s going to be a few folks in Colorado who’ll come up here and continue on with the process, but we’ll just turn them over to Cheyenne PD if we do find them,” Myers said.

Routine bag checks are conducted at the entrance to Frontier Park.

Officer Dan Long with the Cheyenne Police Department said that the department’s primary concern during CFD will be watching for people driving under the influence whether that be alcohol or something else.

To that end, Long said that many department personnel have received additional training in recognizing signs of impairment beyond alcohol intoxication.


100 questions about Colorado marijuana: Buying basics, partaking dos and don’ts, transporting weed within the state and a lot more info


“With the legalization in Colorado, we started training all of our officers in ARIDE, which is Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement,” Long told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. “It’s addressing the gap in training between the standard sobriety test we do on the street and the advanced drug recognition experts, and it will better prepare them for identifying people on marijuana.”

Apart from that, Long said the department isn’t planning any specific detail aimed at marijuana users. He said it remains to be seen just how many CFD attendees will take a side trip to Colorado during their time here.

“If we find it, we’ll definitely address it as we always do,” Long said. “I’m sure there’s going to be some tourists coming here that will run down to Colorado. But this is the first Frontier Days since they’ve legalized recreational sales, so we’ll see.”


Pot stats: Wyoming now tracking marijuana arrests


Jim Toleman works for a marijuana retailer near Fort Collins, Colorado, that began selling recreational marijuana April 9.

Toleman said the business already sees quite a few customers from Wyoming.

Still, Toleman said that with so many people congregating at the rodeo just 40 minutes north of him, he’s expecting an increase in business.

Toleman said buyers should know that they can’t take the marijuana purchased in Colorado out of state, nor can they smoke it in public in Colorado.

“We personally explain that to a lot of people that out-of-staters can only buy a quarter-ounce a day and possess up to an ounce while they’re in Colorado, and then they can’t take that back across the border,” he said.

———

Information from: Wyoming Tribune Eagle

This story was first published on DenverPost.com