Kelowna RCMP admits to being ‘behind’ on public cannabis education

The federal government and local RCMP appear to be in the same boat in regards to upcoming cannabis legalization.

News broke last week that legal cannabis will no longer be available by July 1 and today Kelowna RCMP acknowledged that public education surrounding cannabis is lacking.

Responding to Councilor Ryan Donn’s question regarding the limits for cannabis consumption while operating a vehicle, Kelowna RCMP Superintendent Brent Mundle conceded that both the federal government and RCMP are playing catch up.

“We’re behind in respect to public education for cannabis,” said Superintendent Mundle. “When it comes to operating vehicles, I'm not aware if they (federal government) have determined what the limit is for cannabis. Identifying a suitable instrument has also yet to be determined. It will be a significant learning process for everyone.”

Councilor Donn responded to the statement by saying it’s “almost shocking” that some significant decisions have yet to be determined.

Official legislation for these policy decisions is expected to be introduced in the spring, along with a public education campaign to ensure broad public awareness of these new provincial rules.

The B.C. government has announced the use of cannabis will be banned for all occupants of vehicles, similar to alcohol.

RCMP have conducted a pilot project where police would be able to demand a saliva sample from a driver if they reasonably suspected the person had drugs in their body.

Should the saliva test lead police to believe an offence has been committed, they could order an examination by an evaluating officer or the taking of a blood sample.

However, South Okanagan-West Kootney MP Richard Cannings, has spoken at length in the House of Commons on potential flaws that this THC testing method presents.

“I sat on the justice committee while we were discussing this and the basic facts are that you can test for THC in the blood, but there is no relation between the amount of THC in your bloodstream and your impairment,” said Cannings to KelownaNow in October.

“Anyone who uses marijuana on a regular basis will have chronic levels of THC in their blood and will test positive to a roadside test but it has no relationship to whether they are impaired at that exact moment.”

According to Cannings, roadside testing that looks for THC in the blood will essentially turn anyone who has legally smoked marijuana in the past week into a criminal as soon as they sit behind the wheel.

“You have to test for THC impairment and there are ways that we can do that, but you can’t just test for THC in the blood because it will be meaningless. Medical marijuana users have already contacted me and said they are ready to take this issue to the Supreme Court of Canada,” explained Cannings.

“Testing for THC in the blood would be criminalizing people who use marijuana, when the whole idea was to legalize it.”