{"id":185405,"date":"2018-10-13T02:51:52","date_gmt":"2018-10-13T06:51:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=185405"},"modified":"2018-10-13T02:51:52","modified_gmt":"2018-10-13T06:51:52","slug":"long-police-officers-abstain-pot-depends-ask","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2018\/10\/13\/long-police-officers-abstain-pot-depends-ask\/","title":{"rendered":"How long should police officers abstain from pot? Depends whom you ask"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cIt doesn’t become more important after Oct. 17.\u201d (Pixabay photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

TORONTO \u2014 Twenty-eight days. That’s how long members of the RCMP and Toronto police have been ordered to abstain from smoking or vaping recreational pot before reporting for duty. Calgary police officers won’t be allowed to use cannabis at all while off the job.<\/p>\n

Such prohibitions have sparked a growing firestorm, with the national association representing front-line officers calling the policies \u201coffensive\u201d and the union for Toronto cops describing the ban as \u201cill-contrived\u201d and \u201carbitrary.\u201d<\/p>\n

But is demanding that Mounties and municipal police officers forego a soon-to-be legal substance for such a lengthy period justified, when there’s no similar policy governing alcohol or potentially mind-altering prescription medications?<\/p>\n

That depends on how much a person consumes and how often, said Dr. James MacKillop, co-director of the Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research at McMaster University.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo if you smoke today, within a few days it will be entirely out of your system because a single instance may be longer-lasting than alcohol but it still nonetheless will be metabolized and will be excreted,\u201d MacKillop said from Hamilton.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf a person is a regular, frequent user, then that window gets much longer because cannabis is what’s called lipophilic, which means it’s absorbed into the body’s fat cells and then it leeches back out from the fat tissue into the bloodstream. And that’s why it’s also detectable in urine,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo if a person’s a heavy user, it may indeed be detectable for up to a month.\u201d<\/p>\n

MacKillop said a number of studies provide evidence of lingering effects of cannabis, including one that found reductions in cognitive performance in active pot users compared to non-users, which returned to normal levels with protracted abstinence.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s not clear that any of those chronic effects on cognition persist after a person stops, but a 28-day washout period would be expected to eliminate virtually all of the cognitive consequences,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s a high bar, but optimal performance from the police or the military or airline pilots or other people in highly safety-sensitive jobs is very desirable. So it’s hard for me to disagree with policies that prioritize safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Rielle Capler, a researcher with the B.C. Centre On Substance Use, considers such lengthy periods of pre-work abstinence unreasonable based on how long the active psychoactive component of cannabis and breakdown products known as metabolites can affect the brain.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the metabolites might still be present in the urine or blood that long, there is no connection to actual impairment,\u201d she said Friday from\u00a0Vancouver.<\/p>\n

\u201cImpairment with cannabis depends on the mode of use, how much you use and your tolerance,\u201d said Capler, who specializes in cannabis policy. \u201cIf you’re inhaling it, the peak impairment is about one to two hours and the impairment dissipates after three to four hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you’re ingesting it, then you might start to feel impairment after an hour or two. It might peak at three or four hours, and be in your system for six to eight hours in terms of it having an effect,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you wanted to be super cautious and conservative, you could say no consumption eight hours before work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Capler maintains the police forces are creating a prohibition for a legal substance without the backing of scientific evidence, and that they should carefully examine the research literature on marijuana-induced impairment and revamp their policies based on the findings.<\/p>\n

Despite recreational cannabis being previously illegal, many Canadians have been toking or vaping the drug, she said. \u201cAnd that’s why we’re changing the laws to coincide more with reality and not criminalize people for something that is happening.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don’t want anybody impaired on the job \u2014 that’s very important, and I think that’s always been important.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn’t become more important after Oct. 17.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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