Justin Trudeau’s groovy and ever-so productive and safe gettin’ high on pot strategy is working out so well. With availability getting more and more convenient, including from those fabulous Soviet-style government-owned and operated liquor ‘n pot stores, tons of Canadians are gettin’ high, including young Canadians aged 15-24, even right before — or at — work. This according to Stats Can:
Statistics Canada — fourth quarter 2018 and first quarter 2019 —
More than half a million workers reported using cannabis before heading to work or while on the job
… An estimated 13% (about 514,000) of Canadian workers who are current cannabis users consumed cannabis before or during work. This is based on combined data from the fourth quarter of 2018 and first quarter of 2019. While the likelihood of engaging in this potentially dangerous behaviour did not differ by age or gender, it did vary by cannabis use frequency. Over one-quarter (27%) of daily or almost daily consumers reported using before or while at work, compared with 7% of other cannabis consumers.
Liberal Seattle, Washington, and other liberal American states beat Canada to the drugged-out strategy, and are also having wonderful success, according to the Seattle Times: “1 in 4 marijuana users get high at work in states with legal weed, survey says.”
You’d think governments who proudly legalized it must be high on pot (and the stats actually show that there’s a chance they are!), because important organizations are still just now getting up to speed. It seems the non-politicians who don’t worry about looking good to the cools — the front line staff in federal government regulatory bodies — aren’t so high on the pot-smoking idea, at all. Only today have they managed to enact regulations:
Reuters and Vancouver Sun, June 7 2019 —
Stay off the weed, Canada tells
flight controllers and crewsCanadian airlines and flight crews are forbidden to consume cannabis for at least 28 days before going on duty, the country’s transportation regulator said on Thursday.
Transport Canada’s new policy, which is effective immediately, says no person should work while “under the influence of any drug,” according to statement posted on its website.
Four weeks is the minimum time required to be free of cannabis before being allowed to work, according to the aviation regulator. The new rules don’t prevent airlines or airports from requiring even stricter requirements of their employees …
I think we can assume many members of flight crews have smoked pot within the past 28 days — before this regulation came into effect just today. They’ve been flying all this time, and now Transport Canada said they were in an unsafe condition to fly. You were at risk.
When you read the Transport Canada website today, concerning smoking pot, it’s like they and Justin Trudeau are in different countries — and they obviously have different concerns.
Transport Canada —
…Cannabis use can cause immediate impairment but also causes longer-lasting impairment that may not be obvious to the user or to the people around them. Cannabis, like many other substances such as narcotics, muscle relaxants, anti-depressants, etc., causes impairment that can affect the judgement and actions of members of a flight crew, including pilots. There is scientific consensus regarding the long-lasting effects of cannabis on individuals, even after impairment is no longer felt. However, current tests for the psychoactive chemical in cannabis do not correspond with impairment levels. As a result, in the interest of aviation safety, Transport Canada does not intend to ease restrictions on the use of cannabis or other substances that cause impairment.
Impairment caused by cannabis use is a serious issue for Transport Canada given its potential to threaten aviation safety. …
They imply that even alcohol use is not nearly as dangerous insofar as long-term effects, with their regulation on that:
No person shall act as a crew member of an aircraft:
(a) Within twelve hours after consuming an alcoholic beverage …
What was the cabinet discussion like over there at Trudeau HQ back in 2015? It’s like they didn’t really think it through. Or they just agreed, we don’t have all the science or data yet, but what the hell, let’s just take a chance and see what happens. Besides, as long as we all look cool as a country, which is important, and nobody thinks we as a country are you know, “squares,” that’s the important thing. Work for you? Let’s do it. Everything will work out just fine. Sunny ways, baby.
PTBC was founded by Mr. Johannesen in 2000.
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