City police coping with legal pot just fine: chief
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/06/2019 (2304 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
THE legalization of cannabis hasn’t had the impact on city operations some officials feared.
Winnipeg Police Service chief Danny Smyth said traffic officers have not been burdened by motorists impaired by cannabis.
“The legalization hasn’t had an impact on us as a police service (and) I haven’t seen huge impact in the community,” Smyth told reporters Friday following the Winnipeg Police Board meeting. “I think some thought it was going to have a bigger impact than it has.”
City hall had called on the Pallister government to share cannabis tax revenue with municipalities, arguing there would be a cost to local governments as part of the legalization fallout.
Winnipeg projected legalization was going to cost $1.76 million, with the lion’s share of that amount — $1.2 million — incurred by the Winnipeg Police Service. Several other departments were also expected to incur expenses, including fleet management, community services, human resources and labour relations, the fire and paramedic service and the property, planning and development department.
For the most part, Smyth said, Winnipeg motorists have acted responsibly when consuming cannabis.
“We really haven’t seen any real uptick for drug-impaired driving,” Smyth said, citing as proof that during the Christmas Checkstop program, there were only four motorists suspected of impairment by cannabis.
“We stop thousands of cars (every season) through the Checkstop program. Only four individuals were suspected of drug-impaired driving,” Smyth said. “To me, it’s an indicator this isn’t going to be the crisis some thought it was going to be.”
Smyth said he doesn’t think the situation will get any worse when Ottawa extends legalization to edible cannabis products later this year.
— Aldo Santin