Saskatchewan

More people smoking pot in public, says Regina police chief

Regina's top cop says there's been no big increase in impaired driving now that it's legal to smoke cannabis, but more people are smoking in public.

No big uptick in impaired driving two weeks after legalization

Fingers hold the end of a joint of marijuana under a flame.
Regina's police chief says more people are smoking in public now that cannabis is legal in Canada. (Joe Mahoney/Canadian Press)

Regina's top cop says there's been no big increase in impaired driving now that it's legal to smoke cannabis, but more people are smoking in public. 

"We have seen a lot of consumption in public. We have not done any enforcement, we've done a lot of education and a lot of communication with regard to that," Evan Bray said. 

"I actually had a personal encounter with an individual the other day. It was a very positive one. The individual actually had a medical purpose for consumption and was able to show the documentation of that." 

Bray said he hasn't seen an overall shift in how people behave.

He said some people caught smoking recreationally in public said they didn't know the rules, while others were willfully breaking them. 

"We've had people that have said to our officers, 'It's legal and I'm proud to say I'm a person that likes to enjoy recreational marijuana,' " Bray said. 

"But the reality is there is some prohibition on where you can enjoy it."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stephanie Taylor

Reporter, CBC Saskatchewan

Stephanie Taylor is a reporter based in Saskatchewan. Before joining CBC News in Regina, she covered municipal politics in her hometown of Winnipeg and in Halifax. Reach her at stephanie.taylor@cbc.ca