‘Very preliminary:’ Regina police chief on new pot saliva test

With the legalization of recreational marijuana coming up in October, the federal government has approved a saliva test for pot.

Regina Police Chief Evan Bray said what he’s seen is very preliminary.

“There’s going to be some things we’re going to have to work through with that (test). There’s some requirements for that instrument in terms of how it’s located in the car, the temperature that it’s kept at, it’s got to be level, all of those types of things,” Bray explained.

Another challenge is Regina Police Service vehicles already have a lot of equipment in them.

“The room for police officers is actually diminishing because of the amount of equipment that is going up,” Bray said.

Regina police haven’t purchased any tests yet.

Cannagreen Raid

On Aug. 24 Cannagreen Dispensary in Regina was raided with three men arrested and charged with drug trafficking.

This comes on the heels of six raids back in March, including Cannagreen.

Bray said those raids were really based on “good communication with the public and those storefronts that were operating illegally.”

“The legislation hasn’t changed, there is a mechanism for people who have a medicinal need to get product to do so. If people aren’t happy with that, that’s not something I can change … currently that’s trafficking,” he continued.

Marijuana will officially be legal in October.