Pot smoking mountie hands in dress uniform

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by HOWITZER

LOL, that is pretty cold to say that he is unsuitable for a role in that case. But I can see where you are coming from. As a joe just walking down the street, if I'm in need of help I don't want some basket case coming to my rescue.

I think the Captain was meaning for the officers own good he's not suitable. I'm sure he can function in the position fine

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

They are not equal.

Need to check your definitions I think.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by core_upt

I whole-heartedly support his need to take his medicine, and to do so on while at work, during office hours and the office uniform he is required to wear.
However, to wear the iconic red serge, which he would not have been required to wear when the photo/video was taken, and smoke a joint which would be an illegal offence if done by most Canadians, and something that the RCMP is responsible for enforcing, is disrespectful. It's an a$$hole move on his part, but he is well within in his rights to be an a$$hole.

Can you take an anti depressent while wearing the serve. The answer is yes. Its not disrespectful. Peoples attitude towards it need to change not the behaviour of the person taking a legally pescribed perscription.

[Ziggy Lidstrom]

All types of opinion aside, this issue is a travesty of reporting and beuracracy. He has been without his service side-arm since January. It's a non issue on that topic. On the issue of getting lit at work, I agree, if you can't get through a day without it you're in trouble. On the other hand, this officer wasn't just getting lit. He was medicating a disorder that effects many people in different ways.

Regarding his pic of him lighting up wasn't the smartest idea since it could and has been construed as offensive.

Too often the little man is chastised and immolated to appease a need to have blame attributed while, our government representation and tax haven seekers escape the ire of the national spotlight.

I mean I have one cup of coffee at work and my coworkers and friends immediately know my mental state has been altered and question not my abilities to perform my jobs nor drive myself home.

I bet if he sneaked in a swig of the flask juice, nobody bats an eyelash, but with herb it's controversial. Imo, alcohol is far more dangerous to the public than Tetrahyrdocannabinol.

[OffsideSpecialist]

Even at my place of work (construction), people aren't allowed to work on site while taking prescription meds that could impair their judgement (for safety reasons obviously). I see no issue with police officers having to get alternate work for such circumstances, as they should be of good judgement while doing their regular duties.

[Ziggy Lidstrom]

Originally Posted by OffsideSpecialist

Even at my place of work (construction), people aren't allowed to work on site while taking prescription meds that could impair their judgement (for safety reasons obviously). I see no issue with police officers having to get alternate work for such circumstances, as they should be of good judgement while doing their regular duties.

That's fine for the most part, but there are other jobs where people who in the line of duty serve and then are left with a debilitating disorder due to the nature of their profession can matriculate into within the org.

So your point about your work stands in that all jobs where worker safety and public safety are concerned should demand a level of sobriety for assurance purposes. Thus he was working a desk job and wasn't really in the vanguard of duty. He was clerically filing away his remaining employment.

[edslunch]

He is taking a legal, prescribed medication in the prescribed method so he is doing nothing wrong. A photo taken out of context has bad optics, but as others have said how is it different from other medications? The sooner we decriminalize pot and get away from this stupid moralization the better.

I do wonder is there not a better way to administer this medicine? I remember eating my 'medicine' back in the day and it worked just fine.

[V]

Yeah, that's what kind of surprises me. I would think that the appropriate method of administering the medicine would not be by smoking it. Just doesn't seem very healthy. Maybe that's my lack of education on the topic speaking, though.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by Rerun

Yes and yes.

THen thank Christ you or them never had access to automatic weapons, otherwise you'd probably ruin a Batman screening.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

THen thank Christ you or them never had access to automatic weapons, otherwise you'd probably ruin a Batman screening.

Rerun would ruin a movie like he ruins everything, just running his mouth too much.

[Rerun]

MOD EDIT: A little much

[Ziggy Lidstrom]

Originally Posted by V

Yeah, that's what kind of surprises me. I would think that the appropriate method of administering the medicine would not be by smoking it. Just doesn't seem very healthy. Maybe that's my lack of education on the topic speaking, though.

It isn't very healthy. Vaporizing is far superior, unfiltered joints are second surprisingly. Bongs and pipes apparently really fall short. Yet I think edibles remain the most discreet and safe.

http://www.ukcia.org/research/pipes.php

Interesting article although it's a '96. But there are way more discreet vaporizer choices he could have applied which would not have been as easy to ascertain that it was what he was doing, and this might have allayed the entire issue. Sad though nonetheless, in that his laissez-faire attitude caused this kettle of fish.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

Need to check your definitions I think.

Please explain

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by kipperfan

I compared medicine to medicine, yes.

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

They are not equal.

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

Need to check your definitions I think.

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

Please explain

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

Did you know that the active ingredient in cough syrup (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dextromethorphan) is a very powerful dissociative very similar to ketamine? One is legal because it has a beneficial side effect that we haven't found a good substitute for. The other is illegal. Both drugs are in the same class and have very similar power levels.

The line that has been drawn is very arbitrary. There are some very powerful non-prescription drugs out there, with the potential to mess you up as much or moreso than even some illegal drugs.

This story makes me wonder how many people work on powerful prescription meds like xanax, etc and how much those really mess people up. I've tried addoral which they give people for ADD and that stuff is pretty powerful.

A lot of people think drugs are black and white. Prescription drugs are safe. Non-prescription drugs aren't that powerful. Illegal drugs are bad. All three of those statements are far from the truth. You can't really generalize about drugs. Each drug has a history of why it is available over the counter, prescribe-able, or illegal. Not all these reasons make sense.

I suspect a lot of issues around drugs will become big debates in the next 100 years as people are able to educate themselves and not just take pro or anti-drug propaganda to heart. We see it already with the dangerousness of alcohol vs weed debate. The dangers of certain over the counter medications and prescription medications are going to be highlighted now that people can share their experiences so easily these days.

From 2001 to 2010, annual acetaminophen-related deaths amounted to about twice the number attributed to all other over-the-counter pain relievers combined, according to the poison control data.

In 2010, only 15 deaths were reported for the entire class of pain relievers, both prescription and over-the-counter, that includes ibuprofen, data from the CDC shows.

That same year, 321 people died from acetaminophen toxicity, according to CDC data. More than half – 166 – died from accidental overdoses. The rest overdosed deliberately or their intent was unclear. For the decade 2001 through 2010, the data shows, 1,567 people died from inadvertently taking too much of the drug.

Acetaminophen overdose sends as many as 78,000 Americans to the emergency room annually and results in 33,000 hospitalizations a year, federal data shows. Acetaminophen is also the nation’s leading cause of acute liver failure, according to data from an ongoing study funded by the National Institutes for Health.

...

In 1977, an expert panel convened by the FDA issued urgently worded advice, saying it was “obligatory” to put a warning on the drug’s label that it could cause “severe liver damage.” After much debate, the FDA added the warning 32 years later. The panel’s recommendation was part of a broader review to set safety rules for acetaminophen, which is still not finished.

...

Regulators in other developed countries, from Great Britain to Switzerland to New Zealand, have limited how much acetaminophen consumers can buy at one time or required it to be sold only by pharmacies. The FDA has placed no such limits on the drug in the U.S. Instead, it has continued to debate basic safety questions, such as what the maximum recommended daily dose should be.

Safety Delay
In the 1970s, the Food and Drug Administration appointed an expert panel to review the safety and efficacy of over-the-counter pain relievers, including acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol. The panel delivered their recommendations on April 5, 1977. At the time, the FDA estimated it would issue final regulations before the end of 1978. The agency has still not completed its work.

For its part, McNeil has taken steps to protect consumers, most notably by helping to fund the development of an antidote to acetaminophen poisoning that has saved many lives.

http://www.propublica.org/article/ty...ly-as-directed

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

http://www.propublica.org/article/ty...ly-as-directed

Thank you.

While there may be detrimental effects of Tylenol i would suggest that saying medication that changes your mental state and Tylenol is comparing Apples and Oranges.

Anything, if taken in too great a quantity can cause death, water intoxication is a prime example.

To me I do not see pot (or any other prescribed pain killer/ mood altering drug) in the same light as Tylenol.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

Thank you.

While there may be detrimental effects of Tylenol i would suggest that saying medication that changes your mental state and Tylenol is comparing Apples and Oranges.

To me I do not see pot (or any other prescribed pain killer/ mood altering drug) in the same light as Tylenol.

Sorry for the lazier post earlier.

Tylenol can affect your mental state. Not all affected mental states are equal.

Anything, if taken in too great a quantity can cause death, water intoxication is a prime example.

With the exception of pot, apparently.

Of all the meds this guy could be prescribed for PTSD, the only one with this associated hysteria is likely the safest.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

Sorry for the lazier post earlier.

Tylenol can affect your mental state. Not all affected mental states are equal.


With the exception of pot, apparently.

Of all the meds this guy could be prescribed for PTSD, the only one with this associated hysteria is likely the safest.

I am not against the use of pot for medical purposes.

Rightly or wrongly the medical profession views pot as something that need to be controlled. Is that right I don't know. I do know I don't see it in the same light as Tylenol (generic over the counter pain killers).

I will say that at times in my life I have take very large doses of Tylenol for a long time (weeks). I did not die.


BTW, I don't have hysteria of his pot usage. I can't say his demons don't require the use of it, who am I to judge his demons, I got enough of my own.

[Nage Waza]

People must be fit for work and I would think that marijuana would significantly impact his ability to perform his duties, even if he is in a desk job. Anything he works on could be doubted in court. He couldn't work on anything safety sensitive and he certainly cannot operate any type of machinery.

I have a medical condition that people have used marijuana to treat, I understand how that limits what work I can do.

It does not matter what is prescribed to you, what matters most is if that medication creates risk doing certain tasks. If a job task analysis deems it reasonable for a worker to work while using their prescription, everything is fine.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by Nage Waza

People must be fit for work and I would think that marijuana would significantly impact his ability to perform his duties, even if he is in a desk job. Anything he works on could be doubted in court. He couldn't work on anything safety sensitive and he certainly cannot operate any type of machinery.

I have a medical condition that people have used marijuana to treat, I understand how that limits what work I can do.

It does not matter what is prescribed to you, what matters most is if that medication creates risk doing certain tasks. If a job task analysis deems it reasonable for a worker to work while using their prescription, everything is fine.

The RCMP had clearly established he was fit for that kind of work by keeping him in that placement. There are no allegations of him being unable to or improperly executing the tasks of his job.

At issue here is him using his prescribed medicine in uniform. They didn't care he was smoking pot, they cared you could tell he was a Mountie while doing it.

[Nage Waza]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

The RCMP had clearly established he was fit for that kind of work by keeping him in that placement. There are no allegations of him being unable to or improperly executing the tasks of his job.

At issue here is him using his prescribed medicine in uniform. They didn't care he was smoking pot, they cared you could tell he was a Mountie while doing it.

I get that, but I don't believe the RCMP establish what is fit for work, usually an outside party does that type of stuff. I know of situations where someone was prescribed weed but I don't have awareness of someone in a safety sensitive position actually working stoned. I doubt that could happen under any modern disability management program.

There are three issues here, one regarding the prescribed medicine, the second the psychoactive affects of the medicine and three the perception of an officer using marijuana.

My opinion would be that the sensitive nature of the subject would require absolute discretion and when combined with the serious sensitive nature of the work would mean removal from that job.

Just because you are prescribed something by a doctor does not result in the absolute guarantee to maintain your job. If you drive a truck you certainly cannot drive stoned. Same with pilots, teachers, etc. In fact, there is drug testing for a reason, it limits your capabilities even when completely off the drug. For example, marijuana negatively impacts your sleep cycle, so it is believed operating equipment deprived of a proper sleep increases the risk of an accident.

Employers may in some circumstances find alternatives for the employee but I do not think this is guaranteed.