Windsor's police chief said his officers will face the challenges that come with the legalization of marijuana, but they are preparing.
Chief Al Frederick provided an update Thursday on what the police service is doing to get ready for the legalization of recreational cannabis next month. He told the Windsor Police Services Board at its monthly meeting that, while his officers are preparing for the challenges, changes to Ontario's cannabis model may complicate matters further.
Frederick referred to the Ontario government's announcement Thursday that smoking recreational cannabis will be allowed in places where cigarette smoking is permitted, in accordance with the Ontario Smoke Free Act. While the potential impact of these changes is not yet known, Frederick said they will raise concerns beyond enforcement.
"This is going to cause issues for our community and for community safety," claimed Frederick. "I think that there's going to be accessibility to a drug, and it has been proven over and over again to be a gateway drug."
Three different points were presented to the police board. The first was the service's current initiative to train certain officers to detect cannabis impairment or impaired-by-drug. The chief said that initiative alone is important because officers will need a certain set of observational skills.
"It takes a special set of skill sets to identify," said Frederick. "It's based on observations. It's not as simple as blowing into a breathalyzer with alcohol."
The second point was adjusting enforcement strategy to deal with the changes made by the province concerning pot retail, and the third was setting up a plan within the police service to deal with cannabis use among personnel.
The provincial government also indicated Thursday that there will be no cap on the number of cannabis retail outlets, and any city in Ontario who wants to opt-out of pot retail has until January 22, 2019, to do so.
October 17 is the date set the province will legalize marijuana in Ontario.
