By Kerrisa Wilson
Medical marijuana advocates on Thursday were defending a Mountie who`s been told to stop using pot while in uniform.
“As long as he’s getting it from a legal source… and he’s not over his prescription amount and he’s using it within his prescribed amount daily, absolutely,” said Chad Clelland, Director of Online and Community Relations at medicalmarijuana.ca.
Photo Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons. An RCMP officer in New Brunswick is saying he has the right to smoke prescribed medical marijuana but the force does not want him to smoke it while in uniform, says CBC News.
As long as the officer can perform his workplace duties normally then he should be able to use it freely at work, he said.
Clelland`s comments came after a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer in New Brunswick who uses medical marijuana is being prohibited from using it while in his uniform, CBC News reported Thursday.
Cpl. Ronald Frances suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and has a prescription to use it throughout the day to help relieve his symptoms and feel relaxed, the report said.
The RCMP Code of Conduct does not specifically discuss an officer’s use of prescribed drugs while on the job but that their actions should be ethically appropriate.
“A member shall not engage in any disgraceful or disorderly act or conduct that could bring discredit on the Force.”
The force does not want Frances smoking the drug in public since it is not an act the force condones, said CBC News.
Clelland says people use medical marijuana for a variety of reasons.
“Medical marijuana really helps to fight the symptoms. I mean the anxiety, the stress, the sleeping disorders that go with PTSD, night tremors.
‘There’s ways that people can use it where it’s very very discreet and yes it absolutely should be accepted.”