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Canada - Mounties who puff medically prescribed marijuana won't be packing guns or driving cruisers, Royal Canadian Mounted Police headquarters says. Those comments come in the wake of a CBC report in which an officer says he should be able to light up with the prescription drug while in uniform to cope with job-related stress. Cpl. Ronald Francis, of J Division in New Brunswick, was not available for comments on Thursday. Sgt. Greg Cox, of Mountie headquarters in Ottawa, said Francis will not be speaking again to the media again in the foreseeable future. In his CBC interview, Cox was quoted as saying that he was prescribed marijuana to cope with job-related post traumatic stress.
He estimated his prescription of three grams a day works out to nine to 15 joints, but reportedly said he doesn't smoke that many. "I get up in the morning, have my coffee and the marijuana," he told CBC. "I go at lunchtime, have a marijuana joint, and then again in the evening. That would be my medical regime. But that may change with my tolerance to THC. It may take two joints in the morning. I don't know." The report said Francis was assigned to administrative duties, meaning he wasn't lighting up while on the road, packing a gun.
Cox said on Thursday that RCMP doctors do not authorize medical marijuana, but it can be prescribed to an officer by a family doctor, following Health Canada's guidelines for medical marijuana.
"Any member on a mind-altering drug – such as marijuana, OxyContin, Dilaudid – is not permitted to perform operational duties, including carrying a firearm or operating a police vehicle, as this could pose a risk to themselves, a co-worker or the public," Cox said in a prepared statement. Cox added that RCMP policy "requires members to report anything that is likely to be hazardous to an employee's health and safety or that of other people in the workplace."
In the CBC interview, Francis said he started to seek treatment for stress eight years ago, after serving in First Nations detachments in Labrador and New Brunswick. "Post-traumatic stress disorder – and any work-related injury for that matter – is a real issue for our organization that we take very seriously," Cox said. Cox said that the force is "continuously working to strengthen the support we can offer employees affected by operational stress injuries."
"The commissioner has made it clear both publicly and to the employees of the RCMP that if you get sick or injured on the job, we will look after you – and we will do it fairly," Cox said. Medical cannabis advocate Adam Greenblatt said the RCMP case underscores the need for employers to better understand the medicinal use of the drug. Greenblatt, president of the Canadian Association of Medical Cannabis Dispensaries, said the corporal could always take his marijuana in discreet ways, such as baking it into a cookie or using a vaporizer, Canadian Press reports.
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Thestar.com
Author: Peter Edwards
Contact: Contact Us | Toronto Star
Website: Pot-prescribed Mounties won?t be packing guns or driving cruisers: RCMP headquarters | Toronto Star
He estimated his prescription of three grams a day works out to nine to 15 joints, but reportedly said he doesn't smoke that many. "I get up in the morning, have my coffee and the marijuana," he told CBC. "I go at lunchtime, have a marijuana joint, and then again in the evening. That would be my medical regime. But that may change with my tolerance to THC. It may take two joints in the morning. I don't know." The report said Francis was assigned to administrative duties, meaning he wasn't lighting up while on the road, packing a gun.
Cox said on Thursday that RCMP doctors do not authorize medical marijuana, but it can be prescribed to an officer by a family doctor, following Health Canada's guidelines for medical marijuana.
"Any member on a mind-altering drug – such as marijuana, OxyContin, Dilaudid – is not permitted to perform operational duties, including carrying a firearm or operating a police vehicle, as this could pose a risk to themselves, a co-worker or the public," Cox said in a prepared statement. Cox added that RCMP policy "requires members to report anything that is likely to be hazardous to an employee's health and safety or that of other people in the workplace."
In the CBC interview, Francis said he started to seek treatment for stress eight years ago, after serving in First Nations detachments in Labrador and New Brunswick. "Post-traumatic stress disorder – and any work-related injury for that matter – is a real issue for our organization that we take very seriously," Cox said. Cox said that the force is "continuously working to strengthen the support we can offer employees affected by operational stress injuries."
"The commissioner has made it clear both publicly and to the employees of the RCMP that if you get sick or injured on the job, we will look after you – and we will do it fairly," Cox said. Medical cannabis advocate Adam Greenblatt said the RCMP case underscores the need for employers to better understand the medicinal use of the drug. Greenblatt, president of the Canadian Association of Medical Cannabis Dispensaries, said the corporal could always take his marijuana in discreet ways, such as baking it into a cookie or using a vaporizer, Canadian Press reports.
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Thestar.com
Author: Peter Edwards
Contact: Contact Us | Toronto Star
Website: Pot-prescribed Mounties won?t be packing guns or driving cruisers: RCMP headquarters | Toronto Star
