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This election season, Montanans are voting on a measure that would legalize recreational marijuana. According to some local law enforcement officers, however, it could be a counterproductive approach.

According to Lynn Lanzoni, who has worked with a drug dog in Sanders County since 2015 and has been in law enforcement for many years, drug use can have a huge impact on domestic violence.

He mentioned that many people compare the use of marijuana with the use of alcohol, and historically how alcohol has been banned and legalized. To Lanzoni, this is not a very accurate comparison because the effect each has on the body is very different.

“However, I have seen way more accidents caused by alcohol than I have marijuana,” Lanzoni said. When asked if marijuana is a gateway drug, he said that to his knowledge there is no study that proves that it is, however in his experience marijuana often leads to harder substances. “Almost always, when I see marijuana, there is a high likelihood I’m going to find something else,” said Lanzoni.

When asked about marijuana bringing in revenue, he mentioned some of his experience. He said that places that have tried legalizing it have found that it in fact costs the area more in law enforcement, management and medical expenses than it brings in for the communities to use.

Lanzoni says that not everyone who uses marijuana is a criminal, and he doesn’t believe that it is inherently bad, however “there will always be someone who will abuse it.”