In a state where selling pot could once net you life in prison, Clark County’s top law enforcement officer told a room full of marijuana business owners Thursday that he wants to work with them.

Sheriff Joe Lombardo, who heads the 3,200-officer Metropolitan Police Department, made light of the historic nature of his appearance at a lunch meeting of the Las Vegas Medical Marijuana Association.

“Bear with me. I’m still trying to wrap my arms around the fact that the sheriff’s in a marijuana (meeting),” he said to laughter.

Speaking just days after the county’s first legal marijuana dispensary opened, Lombardo told the owners he wants to help make sure their businesses are safe.

The sheriff said his two biggest concerns are the prospect of people driving under the influence and the potential for robberies or thefts given the cash-heavy nature of the business.

“What happens when you have cash? You have people that want it,” said Lombardo, who was elected sheriff in 2014 after 26 years as a Metro officer. [Read more at the Las Vegas Review-Journal]