Saskatoon Police Chief Clive Weighill is weighing on an issue that’s been dominating the headlines.
Marijuana and how to police it has been a hot debate for decades, and Weighill said he’d rather see tickets than charges.
“It’s so simple it makes you cry,” he said.
According to Weighill, the change would save everyone involved time and money,
“That’s a lot of appearances in court for our officers, a lot of time for our judges, a lot of time for prosecuters and defense council all being eaten up and by and large you get a $150 fine or no sentence,” he said.
Roughly 150 police chiefs across Canada agree. They passed a resolution on this at the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police meeting.
Weighill said handing out tickets would simply be more effective. “We're left in a situation right now - you come across somebody with two joints and the officer has discretion and he can either charge or not charge and turn a blind eye to what's going on. We'd rather everything be up front,” he said.
Earlier this week the debate was sparked again when liberal leader Justin Trudeau admitted he’s smoked pot since being elected to parliament. Trudeau called his marijuana experience very rare. “I think five or six times in my life I’ve taken a puff. It’s not my thing,” he told reporters.
While some, like Trudeau, want to see the drug legalized, others only want to see it decriminalized. Either way, the government isn’t budging.
In Saskatoon, Weighill said his officers follow the laws, but that there can be opportunity for change within the rules.
“The way we're dealing with it right now certainly isn't working and it’s causing a big burden on police resources, court resources. All we're saying is let’s simplify the process."
