Police chiefs say they’re ready for upcoming cannabis legalization
Police agencies across the country are ready for the legalization of recreational cannabis this week, Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer said Monday.
Palmer, speaking as president of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, said enforcement of the new rules surrounding marijuana will be shared by police, municipal bylaw officers and provincial regulators depending on the circumstances involved.
As of Wednesday, if you smoke pot in a city park or on school property, you could get ticketed by a municipal bylaw officer.
If you drive impaired after using cannabis, expect to be stopped by police and face the same consequences that a drunk driver would.
If you are selling cannabis without a licence, a provincial government investigator might target you.
“Every situation is quite different and we’ve got to kind of feel out the landscape as we go forward because it is not a black-andwhite thing that police are just doing this, the community safety units are doing this, the bylaw officers are doing that,” Palmer told journalists at a Vancouver news conference. “We have to all get used to how this new regime is going to work.”
Palmer said he doesn’t expect any big immediate crackdown by police against cannabis businesses that don’t yet have provincial licences.
“October 17 is going to come, then October 18, and then October 19,” he said. “You are probably not going to see a whole big change with regard to what the police are doing or anyone else is doing.”
He said Canadians should be aware “that different infractions involve different agencies and different response times depending on the risk to public safety.”
And that means police will continue to target high-level organized criminals involved in cannabis production, smuggling or black market sales, Palmer said.
“We know organized crime will attempt to capitalize on the legalization of cannabis. On this front, the (association of police chiefs) supports any initiative that dissuades Canadians from turning to the black market to obtain cannabis,” he said.
“We’re doing everything we can to stop organized crime from becoming involved in both the medical and recreational marijuana industries.”
Palmer said the new regulatory regime will provide clearer guidelines on how to deal with storefront sellers such as those that have been operating in Vancouver in “a grey area” for years.
“As far as cannabis dispensaries or stores, that is going to be an interesting one and that will vary across the country,” he said. “Here in Vancouver, we do have a high percentage of cannabis stores compared to other places in the country. So now that law will actually become clearer and it will assist us in that regard.”
Palmer said that while “the legal recreational use of cannabis will be new for Canadians come Wednesday, enforcing laws around impaired driving and the illegal production, distribution and consumption of cannabis will not be new to police.”
While some policing agencies like the VPD have decided against using the federally approved Drager DrugTest 5000 to test drivers suspected of cannabis impairment, Palmer said there are other effective roadside tests.
Across Canada, there are currently 13,000 officers trained in standard field sobriety. Another 7,000 are expected to be trained in the next few years. And there are 833 certified drug-recognition experts with another 500 in training, Palmer said.
But he also said police will still have higher priorities than enforcing new cannabis laws.
“Marijuana is important, but it is not the most important thing going on in the country right now. Fentanyl, for example, kills 11 Canadians a day. Marijuana certainly doesn’t. There are more pressing issues going on in public safety.”
Palmer said the public should also understand that “not all issues or concerns related to the legalization of cannabis can or will be resolved on day one or in one day.”
“Police will continue to respond to emergencies and imminent public safety issues, but enforcing the new laws and regulations will be an ongoing process involving a phased approach over weeks, months, and years. The police are ready to adapt based on experience, lessons learned, and the actual reality in each of our communities.”