From coast-to-coast, police departments in Canada are laying out regulations for their officers to follow in terms of their use of recreational cannabis.
In August, the Vancouver Police Board recommended that its members refrain from smoking recreational cannabis 24 hours prior to duty. The Vancouver Police Department rejected that recommendation, instead deciding on a “fit-for-duty” policy.marijuana legalization
The Calgary Police Service has opted for a stricter approach to its tolerance of officers recreation ally consuming marijuana. For the unforeseeable future, Calgary police officers will have to follow a “zero tolerance” rule.
A CPS spokesperson said, “in the interest of officer and public safety, the service has taken an abstinence approach for marijuana use both on and off duty.”
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In a statement, HRP spokesperson Const. Amy Edwards said, “We are working closely with law enforcement partners to craft and adopt policies that will apply to all our employees. We are currently in the process of finalizing them and will reserve comment on the details until such time that those policies are in place.”
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While HRP regulations remain unknown for now, one regional councillor has his own opinions of how he hopes things play out for city police officers.
“It’s a complex matter and it’s not been done before. There is no simple answer to this and I’d like to err on the side of caution,” Coun. Steve Craig, who is also the chair of the Police Board of Commissioners.
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Despite that role, he says he has no authority when it comes to the decision making of HRP policy and recreational cannabis.
He does hope HRP follows suit with Calgary because he says research he’s studied shows cannabis can last in the human system for a significant period of time and “impair executive functioning.”
“Unlike alcohol, which would be going through your system in 12 hours and therefore you’d be fit for duty, cannabis can stay in your system from seven to 20 days,” Craig said.
He says with the topic of public safety in mind, he would prefer it if HRP “played it safe” with a zero tolerance policy while the impacts of cannabis legalization roll out across the country.
— With files from Heide Pearson and Caley Ramsay