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Cops Say There's 'Confusion' Over Pot Laws in Canada — the Government Says, 'Chill'

Bill Blair, the former police chief who is in charge of devising a legalization scheme under Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party, said that there should be no confusion: recreational pot remains illegal... for now.
Photo by Anthony Tuccitto/VICE News

As marijuana dispensaries pop up all across Canada in anticipation of the drug being legalized, police chiefs say the new Liberal government needs to clear up the "confusion" surrounding its current legal status — namely by reinforcing that it's still illegal for recreational use.

But the man in charge of implementing Canada's legalization regime says there shouldn't be any confusion at all.

Bill Blair, a former Toronto police chief who is now parliamentary secretary to the minister of justice, stressed that the current laws remain in effect "and should be obeyed" as the government takes "the time that is necessary to get this right."

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"At this time, marijuana is still a Schedule II drug under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and, unless otherwise regulated for production and distribution, is subject to the offences under that regulation," said the statement.

Advocates and dispensary owners, on the other hand, say police would do better to stop enforcing laws now — especially those related to trafficking and possession — given that they could change in the near future.

"The notion that they must enforce the law with all of their power and might until the day it changes, I just don't believe to be true," says Mark Hauk, owner of Saskatchewan Compassion Club, which was raided at the end of October by police. "You see police departments and city councils set priorities all across this country, and they can certainly do so in the case of cannabis."

The club hasn't been dispensing marijuana since Hauk and three others were arrested and charged with trafficking, but he says he's seriously considering restarting his operation. Tomorrow, he'll be meeting his lawyer to discuss the possible legal repercussions of selling marijuana to medicinal users in Saskatoon again.

Hauk says he's compelled to ignore the legal risks because he's received too many calls to ignore from patients who need their medicine.

Don Briere, co-owner of Good Weeds, which operates 25 dispensaries across Canada, sees the enforcement of anti-marijuana laws as a waste of taxpayer dollars and police resources, which could instead be used to fight other types of crime.

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He also believes the relationship between dispensaries and law enforcement is mutually beneficial: "We're assisting them in job shifting and helping them out in many ways," he says. "We're pulling the money away from organized crime, we pay taxes, we employ people."

Related: Thanks, Trudeau: Toronto Is Becoming Canada's Next Weed Boom Town

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government has promised to legalize weed for recreational use, but the changes are unlikely to come any time soon — while the timeline isn't clear, Trudeau has indicated that it could take as long as two years.

But as the government determines how the process will unfold, many cities like Vancouver, Toronto, and Saskatoon are seeing dispensaries open and operate as if they're already legal. This has caused an outcry from Canada's federally licensed producers — the only companies legally allowed to grow and sell marijuana, and only to medical patients — who have called on police forces across the country to shut them down.

Canadian Police Association president John Stamatakis, in an interview with The Globe and Mail, stressed the need for "some action and messaging" from the federal government, as "the discussion [surrounding legalization] that is occurring is causing a lot of confusion, even from an enforcement perspective."

Some people, he continued, are "convinced or have allowed themselves to be convinced that marijuana is now legal and it's okay to not only use it but to manufacture and sell it."

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The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police's president, Chief Clive Weighill echoed Stamatakis' call to the government, saying it "it would certainly help if the government would come forth and advise people that the legislation isn't in place yet and that the laws will be enforced until it is."

The CACP refused a request for comment from VICE News.

In an interview with VICE News, Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police president Joe Cuoto said while he can't say for sure whether or not there's been an uptick in trafficking and pot shops opening in Ontario since Trudeau took office — they haven't looked at the data yet — he'd also trust that the federal officials, if they're asked about legalization "would reiterate that the law is the law — it's still illegal."

"Police don't have a choice in terms of addressing either a complaint or if they find an illegal substance," said Cuoto. "We're law enforcers, we're not lawmakers."

But unlike their national counterpart, Cuoto and Alberta Association of Chiefs of Police president Marianne Ryan brushed off the notion that there was any confusion among cops about how marijuana laws should be enforced.

"Any changes to marijuana laws will be respected by police and until any changes do occur, the laws of Canada apply and police will enforce them," Ryan wrote to VICE News in an email.

The Trudeau government plans to design a "system of strict regulation, with strong sanctions for those who sell outside this framework, to ensure that we will keep it out of the hands of children, and the profits out of the hands of criminals."

Follow Tamara Khandaker on Twitter: @anima_tk