'VIOLATED' MAN SAYS POLICE NEED MORE EDUCATION ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA

The level of police education about medical marijuana rules is being
questioned by one Regina-area man after an incident during a traffic
stop earlier this week left him feeling disheartened.

"I felt helpless, sad, violated," said the man, who asked to be
identified only as James. "I've never felt that feeling. I didn't
sleep the night before last; I just felt so violated. Here you've
taken a hard-working, early-30s tradesman who believes in the system,
and I just got treated as a drug addict or something."

A police cruiser pulled James over in north Regina shortly after 4
p.m. on Wednesday for what James said they described as a routine
stop. While searching through the glove box for his registration,
James pulled out a couple of grams of marijuana he forgot was inside
and placed it on the seat beside him.

For the last three years, James has had a medical licence from Health
Canada that permits him to carry up to 150 grams of cannabis, or the
equivalent of one month's supply, at any time. He's even taken pot on
a plane before.

"I'm not breaking the law," James stated. "I don't smoke and drive. I
have the right to do this, so I figure I have to follow all the laws.
I've never done anything illegal since I've had my licence."

The police officer asked James to step out of the truck and put his
hands against the vehicle. James produced his medical marijuana
licence, a card about the size of a driver's licence photo ID.

Despite that, the police searched his pockets and patted him down
before putting him in the back of the cruiser for between 20 and 30
minutes, he said, while the officers searched his truck.

"It was the worst feeling in my life," James said. "I've never been in
any type of law problems ... and I got treated like a criminal. I
found it disheartening."

The officers eventually let James go. The next day, he went down to
the police station to file a complaint, as he wants to raise awareness
about medical marijuana. The officers who stopped him indicated they
weren't familiar with the licence card, he said.

"I don't want to disrespect the police in anyway," he said. "I'm not
looking to get anyone in trouble here. All that's needed is more education."

James said increased awareness is especially important, as there are
numerous doctors in Saskatchewan writing prescriptions for cannabis,
and many medical users of the controlled substance. He wants a memo to
go out to everyone in the police force about the issue.

The police received his complaint, and it is under investigation, said
Regina Police Service spokeswoman Lara Guzik Rostad.

Officers have grounds to search a person and a vehicle if something is
in plain view, or there is a smell of narcotics or alcohol, she
explained. There aren't any rules specific to medical marijuana and
traffic stops, and officers must consider many factors, she added.

"There's many different things that come into question, and every
situation is different," she said.

Regina police currently don't have in-house training specific to
medical cannabis, she added. "That being said, there's always
opportunity to learn more and to understand more."