Timmins Police officers will be able to use marijuana off duty, but not within 24 hours of reporting to duty.
Oct. 17, it will be legal for people 19 and older to buy, use, possess and grow recreational marijuana in Ontario.
In advance of the legislation changes, the Timmins Police has created a policy for the recreational use of cannabis for its off-duty members.
The policy says that the lawful and responsible use of cannabis is permitted for off-duty members, but not within 24 hours of reporting to duty. It also states that employees must be "fit for duty and unimpaired by cannabis while on duty."
"In the interest of clarity, the Timmins Police service in no way endorses, advocates, recommends, or encourages the use of such substances by its members, civilian or uniform," reads a statement from the police.
The legalization of marijuana was talked about at the Timmins Police Services board meeting last week.
At that time, the internal policy hadn't been finalized yet.
Police Chief John Gauthier did talk about the unknowns of THC, however.
He said a breathalyzer technician, for example, could accurately say what the elimination of alcohol is through somebody’s system, but they don’t know the elimination rate of THC.
“Right now, we can’t do it with a lot of degree of certainty when it comes to THC, we don’t know what that is” he said.
“Moving forward, if we come up with a number which is five hours, 10 hours, 28 days, 24 hours, because it’s an operating procedure, I can then go back as the science gets a little more clear for us and change our internal policies, if I have to.”
Read more about the discussion at the meeting here.
