Sheriff candidates discuss marijuana, ICE detainees, experience for the job

Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Tompkins and challenger Alex Rhalimi both oppose legalization of recreational marijuana, but for different reasons.

At a candidate forum sponsored by RoxVote in Hibernian Hall tonight, Tompkins said he worries that legalization would mean gummy bears and other comestibles laced with very potent THC that would prove too attractive to the county's many students - both college-age and younger, to the point where things would quickly "get out of control." Noting that 70% of the inmates in Suffolk County's two jails already have some sort of drug problem, the last thing we need is a new drug problem, he said.

Rhalimi also opposed legalization of recreational marijuana because, he said, it would prove to be a gateway drug to opioids.

Both said they support medicinal use of marijuana, however.

In response to a question from moderator and Globe reporter Meghan Irons, Tompkins said he's started rethinking his contract with the federal government to house people picked up by ICE to await possible deportation, even if they are not facing current criminal charges. Tompkins said he needs to do more research on the issue, however, before making a decision that might affect other parts of his cooperative work with the feds.

Rhalmi, however, had no such qualms: He said if elected he would abrogate the contract to store detainees in Suffolk County jails because of questions over the detainees' constitutional rights. He emphasized, however that immigrants who have committed serious crimes should be booted from the country.

Rhalmi, making his first try for the position, said he has both bachelor's and master's degrees in criminal justice with additional training in various criminal-justice fields and that building a limousine company from scratch and running it successfully for 17 years shows he has the management experience to lead the $103-million sheriff's department.

Tompkins, sheriff since Andrea Cabral left the post in 2013, said book learning is nice, but hardly the same as his on-the-job experience. "They should re-elect me because I know what I'm doing," he said, adding that growing up in the projects in Harlem gives him a unique perspective on trying to help his inmates break out of the incarceration cycle. He pointed to the launch of a new program, dubbed Oasis, that will provide a 45-day detox program for incoming inmates with drug problems - and pair them with programs that can help them once released from jail.

Rhalimi said he would spend long hours on Beacon Hill if need be to secure more funding for treatment and mental-health programs. Tompkins said that wouldn't work - instead, he said he is setting up a 501(c)(3) charity to try to raise private funds that would go exclusively to Suffolk County programs, rather than possibly being claimed by the state.

The two are running in the Democratic primary on Sept. 8 - a Thursday. In addition to Boston, the jail serves Chelsea, Winthrop and Revere.