Officials Question Cannabis Impacts

Puzzle Answers

OCEAN CITY – Officials say the legalization of recreational cannabis has had some effect on the number of weapons arrests and substance violations reported in Ocean City last month

On Monday, Ocean City Police Chief Ross Buzzuro presented members of the Ocean City Police Commission with an update on police activity for the month of July With the legalization of recreational cannabis taking effect July 1, Buzzuro reported the number of controlled dangerous substance (CDS) violations had decreased from 139 last year to 22 this year, while drug citations decreased from 79 to one

“We know that is the change in the cannabis law,” he said

Buzzuro also noted that DUI arrests had increased from 27 to 50, while weapons arrests had decreased from 67 to 24 Council President Matt James, commission member, questioned if weapons arrests correlated with drug citations

“Weapons arrests are significantly down,” he said “Do you think that’s because of the drug citations?”

Buzzuro said the decrease in weapons arrests could be a result of the department’s enforcement efforts. However, he said he believed it had some effect

“I think that plays a part in it,” he said “Optimistically speaking, there could be somewhat less because of our enforcement efforts But we also have to factor in the change in cannabis and our ability to further search [a vehicle] We’re not able to recover the amount of firearms and weapons we were able to prior to July 1 ”

However, Capt James Grady told commission members this week the Ocean City Police Department was working with the Worcester County State’s Attorney’s Office as new cannabis laws take effect

“The state’s attorney’s office came in and did some really good training with us,” he said “They wanted us to try and search vehicles based on the smell of CDS if all the occupants are under 21, because they aren’t allowed to legally have it If everyone is 21 and over and we smell the odor, we can’t search the car So they are pushing the envelope a little bit Interestingly enough, we just had our first stop where that happened, and we got a fully loaded ghost gun out of the car ”

Councilman Frank Knight, commission member, also questioned if cannabis use had any effect on the number of DUI arrests

“DUIs have almost doubled from last year , ” he said “Are they intoxicated because of alcohol, or is it drugs?”

Buzzuro said the number of DUI arrests could also be the direct result of enforcement However, he said he believed cannabis use had an impact on impaired driving

“There’s more attention in terms of traffic enforcement, not only because we have more time to do that, but we also have to factor in that shift in terms of cannabis and DUIs , ” he replied “I feel pretty confident in saying the change has to affect us in terms of people being impaired by cannabis and driving vehicles ”

During Monday’s presentation, Buzzuro also noted that the number of 911 hangups had increased by 503 calls, from 769 in July 2022 to 1,272 in July 2023 He said that uptick was also reflected in the total number of citizen calls for service, which had increased by 502 compared to last July

“Now we’re over 1,000,” he said That’s a little over 30 calls a day So they are contributing to our numbers, they are making those numbers significantly higher ”

Emergency Services Director Joe Theobald said advances in technology could be to blame for the increasing number of 911 hangups

“Technology has improved on the phones,” he said “The SOS feature, people can set it, if they fall, to dial 911 ”

He noted, however, that staff continue to follow up on all 911 calls that are made

“The majority, probably, we handle internally,” he said “But that’s technology We have to respond to the call when we get it and follow up on it ”

Tuesday: Beach Safety (OC Beach Patrol)

Wednesday: Knot Tying (Coast Guard)

Thursday: All About Sharks

Friday: Land, Sky, & Sea

Saturday: Aquarium Feeding

OCEAN CITY – Less than a month remains to submit comments regarding offshore wind leasing areas off the coast of Maryland, Delaware and Virginia

On July 31, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced three final offshore wind energy areas off the mid-Atlantic coastline To that end, the federal agency last week published its notice of intent to prepare an environmental assessment (EA) of potential impacts from offshore wind leasing in the wind energy areas

The public has through Aug 31 to respond

“BOEM is seeking public input regarding important environmental issues and the identification of reasonable alternatives that should be considered in the EA,” the notice reads “The environmental impacts of any proposed wind energy projects will be assessed after a lease is issued and before BOEM decides whether or not to approve any lessee's project construction and operations plan ”

Last fall, BOEM announced eight draft wind energy areas on the U S Central Atlantic outer continental shelf for public review and comment The draft wind energy areas are offshore of North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware, covering approximately 1 7 million acres

Before finalizing the wind energy areas, BOEM reports it considered feedback from government partners, ocean users, and stakeholders in addition to potential conflicts with a United States Coast Guard safety fairway, commercial fishing, Department of Defense activities, a National Aeronautics and Space Administration danger zone, and marine habitat areas

On July 31, BOEM announced the final wind energy areas, which are identified as A-2, B-1, and C-1 off the coast of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia

“BOEM values a robust and transparent offshore wind planning process, which requires early and frequent engagement with Tribal governments, the Department of Defense, NASA, other government agencies, and ocean users,” said BOEM Director Liz Klein “We will continue to work closely with them, and all interested stakeholders, as we move forward with our environmental review ”

BOEM published its notice of intent to prepare an environmental assessment on Aug 1, which will initiate a 30-day public comment period Another public comment period would occur if BOEM decides to move forward with a lease sale in any of the wind energy areas

“This notice starts the scoping process for the EA and solicits information regarding additional important environmental issues and alternatives that should be considered in the EA

, ” the notice reads “Additionally, BOEM will use the scoping process to identify and eliminate from detailed analysis issues that are not significant or that have been analyzed by prior environmental reviews ”

BOEM reports it will also seek information from the public on cultural resources and historic properties that might be impacted by wind energy area leases and activities

“Wind energy leases do not authorize any activities on the Outer Continental Shelf,” the notice reads “Instead, leases grant lessees the exclusive right to submit plans for BOEM approval Prior to deciding whether or not to approve any plan for the construction and operation of commercial wind energy facilities, BOEM will prepare a plan-specific environmental analysis and will comply with all consultation requirements Therefore, this EA will not consider the construction and operation of any commercial wind energy facilities in the [wind energy areas] A–2, B–1, and C–1 ”

If fully developed, BOEM reports the final wind energy areas could support between four and eight gigawatts of energy production