North Bay Police Chief Shawn Devine says with cannabis becoming legal in October education has been key for the public, but for officers too.

He says it’s a little unusual when they bring suspects in for questioning and they have a legal amount cannabis with them.

“When they’re being released they’re being released with the substance with them. If you’re talking to older officers they’re having a hard time comprehending the changes,” Devine says.

He says there has been increased enforcement to see if people are following the law, but there hasn’t been a huge spike in charges.

Devine says drug recognition at R.I.D.E.checks is becoming more prevalent.

“We’re slowly going to see more officers trained in detecting the impairment by drugs. That will probably mean an increase in the number of charges,” Devine says.

He says they are currently in the process of training two drug recognition officers.

Filed under: North Bay Police Service