City police undergo training to deal with cannabis impairment
As the legalization date of marijuana nears, Saskatoon police are getting ready for various levels of training to prepare for the new reality.
“It’s a big change in policing,” said Superintendent Brian Shalovelo. “There are multiple layers of training that are going to have to occur as we move toward October 17, but the Saskatoon Police Service is well on its way in educating and informing our members.”
Shalovelo said city police will go through three levels of training. Under federal legislation, officers will take a two-hour online course, including tests to ensure they understand the law.
Training under the provincial legislation is still in a draft form, but will be delivered by the Saskatchewan Police College, as well as through the local training section. The final step will be training about workplace issues for sworn and civilian members.
Fifteen city police members are trained as drug recognition experts. Some are also trained already in standard field sobriety testing, or SFST. By Oct. 17, Shalovelo said, the police force hopes to have about 80 staff trained in standard field sobriety testing, and about 20 trained as drug recognition experts.
“What happens is at roadside, if a member feels that someone might be impaired by drugs, they would go through the standard field sobriety testing analysis,” he said. “And if as a result of that, that officer believes that person is impaired by drugs or they suspect that person is impaired by drugs, then they would call for a drug recognition expert or a DRE to come, and then there’s a further, enhanced investigation to determine if they are impaired.”
Drug recognition expert training is a three-week course, including two weeks at the RCMP Depot in Regina, followed by a week in Jacksonville, Fla. The SFST training is a three-day course.
“It’s very similar to the Alcohol Control Act — you can’t be walking down the street with a beer bottle in your hand, having a drink. You can’t be driving a vehicle with open alcohol in the vehicle, things like that. The provincial legislation is going to be similar when it comes to cannabis. You can’t be walking down the street, smoking a joint. You can’t be transporting marijuana, things like that,” Shalovelo said.
The SPS will also look at buying some new equipment, including roadside screening devices. Any new equipment and screening devices need to be approved by Health Canada ahead of time. Funding for some training and new equipment is coming from the federal government.
“I think the other thing that the public does not realize is that there are still criminal sanctions for people who have more than 30 grams in their possession,” Shalovelo said. “There’s regulation around marijuana now, and there’s regulation regarding less than 30 grams, but still there’s criminal offences for more than 30 grams.”
It’s a big change in policing. There are multiple layers of training that are going to have to occur as we move towards October 17 ...