Just because recreational marijuana use is expected to be legalized later this year does not mean police are not enforcing the existing laws in the meantime, says Guelph’s chief of police.
Chief Jeff DeRutyer of the Guelph Police Service said it is mostly business as usual for his officers as they continue to enforce exiting drug laws, despite proposed legalization of marijuana.
“The reality is the existing laws around the possession of cannabis — other than for approved medical — is against the law,” said DeRuyter.
On Thursday of last week, Guelph Police made an arrest at a local high school, charging a young person with possession of a controlled substance, which DeRuyter confirms was marijuana.
DeRuyter said there is misinformation among some people that, with impending legalization of recreational marijuana, there is currently a free-for-all when it comes to carrying.
“That’s isn’t the case,” said DeRuyter. “The laws on the books are still applicable.”
Officers can use some discretion when considering charges against people found to be in possession of marijuana, said DeRuyter.
For example, DeRuyter said Guelph Police may not pursue charges for someone caught with a very small amount of marijuana, but he cautions that people should not assume they can walk around with marijuana and not be charged.
Suspects can face charges due to trafficking, being found with a large amount of the substance or because they are also suspected of carrying other illicit drugs, said DeRuyter.
One concern DeRuyter has is the possibility of marijuana becoming more available to young people, but he notes there are stiffer penalties for selling to minors as part of the the proposed legislation.
“There are concerns about the effect (of marijuana) on the developing brains of young people,” he said.
Another concern, said DeRuyter, is the current lack of roadside enforcement tools to detect the effects of marijuana use among drivers.
“We continue to increase the number of officers that are getting training in the standard field sobriety testing,” said DeRuyter. “As far as the actual equipment to do the roadside saliva testing, that is still a wait-and-see in terms of what that particular device is and getting those instruments into our service and the training for our members.”
The police service cannot train its officers on the to-be-announced roadside device until everything is finalized, he added.
“Certainly, we have voiced at a number of levels (of government) that there is a training component for our officers — not only for the roadside testing from a road safety point of view, but also the legislation in and of itself,” said DeRuyter.
Bill C-45, known as The Cannabis Act, is the federal government’s proposed legislation to legalize marijuana in Canada. It has already received final approval in the House of Commons and is currently before various committees in the Senate.
The bill deals with the quality of marijuana available for sale, as well as safety and distribution.
A 14-year maximum prison sentence is the proposed penalty for selling marijuana to youth.
A minimum age requirement of 18 was selected by the federal government for the purchase of marijuana, but provinces are allowed to set a higher age.
Ontario has passed legislation regulating a minimum age of 19 to legally purchase marijuana in the province.
