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November 28, 2013 - 10:29 AM
FREDERICTON - An advocate of medical cannabis says the case of a New Brunswick Mountie who's reportedly been told he cannot smoke the drug while in uniform underscores the need for employers to better understand medicinal marijuana.
Adam Greenblatt, president of the Canadian Association of Medical Cannabis Dispensaries, says the RCMP should ultimately allow Cpl. Ron Francis to smoke in uniform providing he is not impaired while on the job.
The CBC reported that Francis told the network there's no policy in the RCMP that prevents him from smoking his doctor-prescribed, medical-grade marijuana in public or while wearing his red serge or regular uniform.
The CBC said Francis is assigned to administrative duties and was prescribed three grams of marijuana a day this month to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, though the Mountie doesn't smoke that amount and does not believe the drug has negatively impacted his ability to be a police officer.
RCMP deputy commissioner Gilles Moreau told the CBC that Francis should not take his medication while in uniform.
Neither Francis nor Moreau could be reached for comment.
Greenblatt says Francis could always take his marijuana in more discreet ways, such as baking it into a cookie or using a vaporizer.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2013