Although police are ready for cannabis to be legalized Wednesday, detachments across the country will take a 鈥渄ay-by-day鈥� approach, Canadian Association of Police Chiefs president Adam Palmer told reporters Monday.
鈥淚鈥檓 here to tell Canadians that police are ready,鈥� Palmer, who is Vancouver鈥檚 police chief, said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important to remember that while the legal recreational use of cannabis will new to Canadians, enforcing laws around impaired driving and the illegal production, distribution and consumption of cannabis will not be new to police.鈥�
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Canada will become the second country, after Uruguay, to legalize marijuana on Oct. 17.
In B.C., pot will be sold at BC Liquor Distribution Branch operated stores, online and by private retailers.
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Currently, only one bricks-and-mortar government store in Kamloops is set to open on Wednesday, and the province said that 62 of the 173 applications for private stores have been sent onto local governments for final approval.
Over 2/3 of Canadians support legalization, says + cops are no different. "They have to understand what new laws of the country will be.. we've gone through extensive training" on how to enforce pot laws based on law, not on officer's personal views
鈥� Kat Slepian (@katslepian)
Palmer acknowledged that with 15 per cent of Canadians having used pot in the past three months, it will take time before users move away from the black market.
鈥淢illions and millions of Canadians are smoking pot鈥� almost all of them have gotten it from illegal sources,鈥� said Palmer.
鈥淲hen the law changes on [Oct.[ 17, you鈥檙e not going to see big changes overnight. We鈥檒l change that balance where it鈥檚 not coming from an illicit supply, it鈥檚 coming from a legitimate supply.鈥�
Palmer said that setting legal pot prices low enough to supplant illicit marijuana dealers will be key to shutting out a black market he says has funded organized crime across Canada for decades.
. says that the will support any policies that discourage people from turning to the black market for their pot.
鈥� Kat Slepian (@katslepian)
Says that police will focus on keeping youth away from cannabis.
But despite the new laws, Palmer said that there were 鈥渘o big raids or anything planned鈥� for Oct. 17 and that enforcement of the country鈥檚 new pot laws will have to fit into an already busy police priority list.
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鈥淚t鈥檚 good to have a clear direction鈥� but in the scheme of things, marijuana is important but it is not the most important thing going on in the country,鈥� Palmer said.
鈥淔entanyl kills a lot of people鈥� marijuana doesn鈥檛.鈥�
Who will be enforcing the new laws
Things like smoking in prohibited places will likely fall to municipal bylaw officers, while large-scale imports, exports and production will fall to police detachments.
Closing down illegal pot shops will be a joint effort between the province and police, Palmer said.
"Every situation is quite different" in terms of pot law enforcement, said. Things like smoking will likely be dealt with by bylaw, while high level imports/exports + production will be dealt with by police.
鈥� Kat Slepian (@katslepian)
In B.C., Palmer said that pot will be treated more like alcohol than tobacco.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 walk down the street and drink a bottle of beer but you will be able to walk down the street and smoke marijuana in this province,鈥� said Palmer.
鈥淚f somebody鈥檚 walking down the street smoking a cigarette, the police aren鈥檛 coming up to them and seeing if that tobacco is purchased at the 7-11 or they purchased it illegally from a tobacco trafficker.鈥�
If people smoke in areas they aren鈥檛 allowed to, they won鈥檛 be arrested, Palmer noted.
鈥淣obody鈥檚 going to jail for something like that.鈥�
Cracking down on drug-impaired driving
Although the federal government , many police forces across Canada won鈥檛 be rolling it out right away.
Instead, Palmer said, they鈥檒l be relying on the standard field sobriety test that鈥檚 been used for years.
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鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 fit the need for every agency,鈥� said Palmer, noting it would be an 鈥渁dditional tool鈥� for police.
Palmer鈥檚 own .
More to come.
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