[andyt]

It's something that needs to be worked out as more and more people are prescribed pot. Smoking is a problem - he needs to not smoke around others, so right there he would be inconspicuous.

The other part is the image problem for the RCMP. There I'm sort of ambivalent, see his and their point. Ultimately he may win tho, since this is his prescribed medicine. Ie somebody injecting insulin wouldn't face the same discrimination. Still, I think he should let it lie. But it's his decision in the end. I'm guessing tho he may be looking for some sort of exit from the RCMP with a nice settlement to help him along.

[OnTheIce]

Curtman Curtman:

My kids don't know that I use pot.

Why not? It's medicine, right?

You've just proved the point above. You claim that stigma shouldn't matter yet you hide the fact that you take this "medicine" from your kids.

Would you hide the fact that you take a Tylenol for a headache?

Bottom line....regardless of the medicine used, if you need drugs so strong that they impair you, you should be on sick leave dealing with your problems or injuries.

[andyt]

Come on. Curt's not taking it for medicine. It's medicine if it's prescribed by a doctor.

The RCMP is fine with him working administrative duties. He's not on sick leave. Just as people work taking oxycodone or Tylenol 3's or what have you. Just their duties are restricted to ones not affected by the drugs.

As for taking medicinal pot in front of your kids - probably not a good idea, since they won't understand the diff between that and recreational pot. Which is exactly what the RCMP is worried about, and if this guy wasn't trying to prove a point he would meet them half way on it. But he actually does have a point to prove.

[Public_Domain]

[OnTheIce]

andyt andyt:

Come on. Curt's not taking it for medicine. It's medicine if it's prescribed by a doctor.

The RCMP is fine with him working administrative duties. He's not on sick leave. Just as people work taking oxycodone or Tylenol 3's or what have you. Just their duties are restricted to ones not affected by the drugs.

As for taking medicinal pot in front of your kids - probably not a good idea, since they won't understand the diff between that and recreational pot. Which is exactly what the RCMP is worried about, and if this guy wasn't trying to prove a point he would meet them half way on it. But he actually does have a point to prove.

Sure he does. He uses pot as medication.

If it's medicine, there's no shame in hiding it from your kids. If you believe strongly as Curt does, there should be zero shame with respect to smoking pot around his kids; or at least them knowing that it makes their dad feel better.

[OnTheIce]

Public_Domain Public_Domain:

Woah OTI, that'd cause economic chaos, I'm sure. A baffling amount of workers work while sick, especially chronic sicknesses. Part of paying to be alive is working while you're dying, I thought that was something that was expected of us.

Sure, many people do work with chronic illness by they don't all take drugs that effect their ability to function. If your condition is so bad that you need hard drugs like Oxy..... Stay home and get yourself better.

[andyt]

I take your point, OTI. If Curt really thinks this guy should be able to smoke up anywhere, anytime, then Curt should also be OK doing it in front of his kids. But, if Curt is smoking recreationally, then I'm sure there are lots of boozers on this forum who will have a beer or two in front of the kids, but also get hammered once in a while, only with no kids present. So there is a distinction. The guy isn't getting wasted on no 3 grams a day, that's for sure.

[jj2424]

Curtman Curtman:

My kids don't know that I use pot.

The Pot Preacher doesn't want his kids to know!

[CanadianJeff]

Doing anything the public would preceive as illegal in uniform shouldn't be allowed period.

it's fine that it's legal for him and it's great if it helps with his PTSD but if I saw a Mountie toking up in public I'm not going to know he's got a medical license for it. I'm going to see an RCMP officer breaking the law.

You have to remember that the public won't have context for the otherwise illegal action. That's the key factor here IMO.

[CanadianJeff]

OnTheIce OnTheIce:

Public_Domain Public_Domain:

Woah OTI, that'd cause economic chaos, I'm sure. A baffling amount of workers work while sick, especially chronic sicknesses. Part of paying to be alive is working while you're dying, I thought that was something that was expected of us.

Sure, many people do work with chronic illness by they don't all take drugs that effect their ability to function. If your condition is so bad that you need hard drugs like Oxy..... Stay home and get yourself better.

As someone who has smoked pot in the past to help with a painful condition (infection and loss of appetite due to pain) if you seriously think a joint would impair your judgement that much I'm glad to say your quite incorrect. It would be less imperative then having a single beer.

[Benn]

jj2424 jj2424:

Curtman Curtman:

My kids don't know that I use pot.

The Pot Preacher doesn't want his kids to know!

Yeah that's classic.

I do have to agree here, if the pot he's smoking is legal, and he's not a patrol officer who needs his wits and reflexes, and smoking in uniform is not against policy for the RCMP then I actually don't see what he did wrong besides some bad judgment. Thing is lots of kids will latch onto this and just see this picture, 'yeah well cops do drugs' and ignore the drug and its reason.

He probably could have thought this out a bit better but did he break any laws or regulations? Not that the story seemed to indicate.

[Public_Domain]

[Curtman]

OnTheIce OnTheIce:

Curtman Curtman:

My kids don't know that I use pot.

Why not? It's medicine, right?

You've just proved the point above. You claim that stigma shouldn't matter yet you hide the fact that you take this "medicine" from your kids.

Would you hide the fact that you take a Tylenol for a headache?

Bottom line....regardless of the medicine used, if you need drugs so strong that they impair you, you should be on sick leave dealing with your problems or injuries.

Oh you're talking to me now? In a pot thread? Is it only certain days of the week? Please advise me which ones.

Corinne is taking dalteparin, we don't let them watch her use needles either.

I don't take Tylenol, I don't use drugs.

[Curtman]

andyt andyt:

Come on. Curt's not taking it for medicine. It's medicine if it's prescribed by a doctor.

The RCMP is fine with him working administrative duties. He's not on sick leave. Just as people work taking oxycodone or Tylenol 3's or what have you. Just their duties are restricted to ones not affected by the drugs.

As for taking medicinal pot in front of your kids - probably not a good idea, since they won't understand the diff between that and recreational pot. Which is exactly what the RCMP is worried about, and if this guy wasn't trying to prove a point he would meet them half way on it. But he actually does have a point to prove.

I've got a doctor's prescription, and an exemption from the controlled substances act.

The kids don't understand what recreational pot is either. They think anyone who smokes is using tobacco, and will die soon. I'm fine with that.

[andyt]

Didn't know that.

So then you can understand how the RCMP don't just want this guy toking up in public - the public won't understand anymore than your kids do. (At some point you'll probably want to have a conversation with them about what you're doing, and the diff between that and just getting zonked.)

And this guy really pushed it, filming himself in the red serge - in the RCMP's face. I'm ambivalent about this. He does have a point to make, in the sense he needs to be allowed to toke up while at work, but I think he should also meet his employer halfway and do it as discretely as possible. Moot now that he's been put on medical leave.