This article is from the archive of our partner .
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police ruled officers may not smoke the marijuana while wearing their full uniform, or in public, despite the wishes of one officer with a medical marijuana license for PTSD issues.
(Update, Friday 1:49 p.m. As this story developed Thursday, it seemed like a lighthearted, whacky Canada story. But Thursday night the RCMP made Francis turn over his uniform, which is, frankly, unfair and embarrassing. The pictures attached to this National Post story are heartbreaking. He still has a job, for now.)
There's some debate over whether Cpl. Ronald Francis, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and is currently assigned to desk duty, should be allowed to smoke at work, or whether he can do so in his RCMP uniform. Francis contends there's no policy stopping him from smoking while at work, and that it should be OK so long as it doesn't impair his police duties. But the RCMP thinks it's inappropriate, and that any medical prescription they find inappropriate can be challenged. Canada's Justice Minister Peter MacKay agrees. Canada's marijuana advocates have already taken up Francis's cause.
Francis began seeing PTSD symptoms years ago after serving in First Nations communities. He received a medical marijuana license this month, and smoking is now part of his daily schedule. “I get up in the morning, have my coffee and the marijuana. I go at lunchtime, have a marijuana joint, and then again in the evening. That would be my medical regime," he tells the CBC. He cautions marijuana could become an even bigger part of his day as his tolerance develops. "It may take two joints in the morning, I don't know," said Francis.