May 8, 2018 Nova Scotia Law Enforcement Perspective Truro Police Service May 8, 2018 Nova Scotia Law Enforcement Perspective

Nova Scotia Police Concerns Public Consumption Personal Cultivation Road Safety (Impaired Driving by Drug) Dispensaries

Nova Scotia Cannabis Control Act On April 3, 2018, the Government of Nova Scotia introduced the Cannabis Control Act to establish the province’s legislative framework for recreational cannabis legalization, including rules around the sale, distribution, purchase, possession, cultivation, propagation and harvesting of cannabis. The Cannabis Control Act enacts new legislation and amends seven other pieces of legislation, including the Liquor Control Act, Smoke-Free Places Act and Motor Vehicle Act.

Public Consumption-Places of Use Public use of Cannabis is banned in playgrounds, public recreation venues and public trails; as well as in provincial parks and on provincial beaches. Cannabis use will be completely prohibited in vehicles, by both drivers and passengers. However, from a policing perspective, we believe the rules for public consumption under the Cannabis Control Act don’t go far enough: Second hand smoke exposure Difficult to enforce-lack of capacity Municipalities can regulate their own By-Laws Conflicts within the community

Personal Cultivation Bill C-45 would permit persons to cultivate up to 4 cannabis plants inside or outside of their dwelling, for personal use – provinces and territories can lower this number. Considerations: Youth access to plants House vs. person Health and safety hazards – fire, electrical, mould Potential diversion to the illegal market Enforcement difficulties – how to distinguish between licit and illicit. Security risk of robbery (increased crime)

Impaired Driving Impaired driving already prevalent and will increase with legalization (based on Washington State and Colorado’s experience) Leading cause of criminal death in Canada Colorado’s traffic fatalities where the driver tested positive for THC quadrupled from 18 in 2013 to 77 in 2016 (after legalization) https:www.cnn.com/2018/04/20/us/colorado-marijuana-and-crime/index.html Considerations: Enforcement: Training, Equipment, additional DRE officers (certification only offered in US – lengthy and costly) Lack of science / evidence based determinants of impairment Increased risk factor of impairment by alcohol and drug Resources – volume of work for law enforcement will increase exponentially Proving a drug-impaired driving offence, including blood samples, will be complicated and time consuming Feds funding $81M to support provinces and territories for access to screening devices and training for drug-impaired recognition

Dispensaries In several communities in Nova Scotia there continue to be dispensaries operating as medical cannabis distributors which is currently illegal and will continue to be illegal after the legalization of cannabis The NSLC in Nova Scotia is the only authorized retail outlets for recreational cannabis sales The Cannabis Control Act has fines for sales outside of the NSLC These investigations will be time and resource consuming Increased costs to municipalities for enforcement/court costs What is the revenue sharing for fines? ($10,000 - $25,000) Colorado-since 2014 their crime rate has been rising, outstripping the national trend In 2016 Colorado’s crime rate was up 5% compared to 2013-violent crime went up 12.5% during this time. The national increase was less that 5% https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/20/us/colorado-marijuana-and-crime/index.html

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