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Legalized marijuana set, but police still lack tools and training for enforcement, says chief

Recreational use of marijuana will be legal in Canada on Oct. 17
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Guelph Police Chief Jeff DeRuyter. GuelphToday file photo

Although a date has been set for the legalization of recreational marijuana in Canada, Guelph’s chief of police says a lot of questions remain.

On Thursday, a bill that allows for the legal purchase and use of recreational marijuana received royal ascent and will go into effect on Oct. 17.

“We have a finish line,” said Guelph Police Chief Jeff DeRuyter. “But that really highlights the things that have to happen for us before we get there.”

Two continuing concerns for DeRuyter are a lack of training for officers and that no roadside saliva testing equipment has yet been approved for use.

Now that the legislation has been finalized, DeRuyter hopes the education piece for officers will come shortly.

“We have to make sure our officers have that training. We are still waiting for that curriculum piece at a provincial and a national level — I know it’s being worked on,” he said.

One challenge, said DeRuyter, is the fact that officers in Guelph typically receive training in only the first six months of the year.

We just wrapped that up,” said DeRuyter. “We are going to have to figure out how we take — in the middle of the summer when staffing is reduced because of holidays — how to get them in and get them trained. I would assume a good part of it is going to be online.”

Final approvals for roadside saliva testing equipment has not yet been approved and DeRuyter said he has not received an expected date for that to happen.

“We keep hearing it’s forthcoming but we have yet to see that. We need to have the equipment, purchase the equipment and then to train our people on that equipment,” he said.

Guelph MP Lloyd Longfield was present in Ottawa on Thursday as C-45 and C-46, the two bills related to recreational marijuana, received royal ascent.

Bill C-45 oversees the actual legalization of cannabis for recreational use, while C-46 relates to impaired driving laws.

Originally, legalization was expected to occur in the summer. Longfield said the government did the right thing by delaying it until October.

“Training programs have to be put in place, working with police forces. It’s something we want to make sure is done right,” said Longfield.

Getting the legislation passed was a lot of work, said Longfield, but he notes there is still a lot of work ahead to ensure it is implemented responsibly.

“We have to get the tools in place for police. People are driving impaired right now and we don’t know, so we have to get that rolled out ASAP,” said Longfield. “We have to get the detection system working. I am going to be very interested in seeing that.”

Longfield said the government is not approaching the legalization as opening the door to a market, but to trying to shut the door on the illegal market that exists now.

“At the end of the day we have to reduce the amount of kids that are using drugs and we have to put stricter penalties on people that are selling to kids and we have to control the distribution properly, because right now it’s the Wild West,” said Longfield.

When the legislation was moving through the House of Commons, opposition MPs pressed the government about how arrests and convictions will be handled in the interim.

DeRuyter said Guelph Police are continuing to lay charges, but that officers have some discretion.

Typically what I see when we are laying charges is when people have multiple illegal substances. I don’t see a lot of simple possession charges being laid in our community, but certainly when there are larger amounts we continue to see charges,” said DeRuyter.

Having said that, DeRuyter notes marijuana continues to be a controlled substance until Oct. 17 and people should not be surprised if they do end up being charged.

“It continues to be an illegal substance. People need to govern themselves accordingly,” said DeRuyter.


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Kenneth Armstrong

About the Author: Kenneth Armstrong

Kenneth Armstrong is a news reporter and photojournalist who regularly covers municipal government, business and politics and photographs events, sports and features.
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