Legal prefilled cannabis vaping products are coming soon to store shelves in P.E.I., which is sparking concerns among Island health officials and RCMP officers.
Last fall, the province made legislative changes to allow prefilled cannabis vape products, making it the last province to do so. They were banned six years ago in P.E.I., Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec, when other products like edibles and beverages were approved.
Kevin Lewis, chief superintendent of the P.E.I. RCMP, said legalizing these cannabis products on the Island could create more challenges for police, especially when it comes enforcement around impaired driving.
“With the cannabis vapes, it’s just another mechanism to get cannabis into an individual’s body, and of course, creates another challenge for law enforcement in terms of seeing, probably, enhanced impaired driving as a result, via drug, which of course is a concern,” Lewis said.
According to Lewis, since 2019 there have been 77 fatal collisions on P.E.I., resulting in 90 deaths – 25 of those collisions involved drugs or alcohol.
He said about 45 per cent of RCMP impaired driving arrests on the Island are due to drug impairment.
Lewis said he’s concerned the legalization of cannabis vape products could lead to more impaired drivers.
“Traditionally people would use alcohol only certain hours of the day, especially into the evenings. Now with drugs, particularly cannabis, we’re seeing people use it in the morning, in the afternoon on their lunch break. So it seems to be much more widely accepted to be used throughout the day,” Lewis said.
Health officials in the province have concerns too.
In a statement provided to CBC News, a spokesperson for the Chief Public Health Office said “it’s important to recognize that vaping any substance carries health risks. Legalization allows for stronger regulation and quality control, but it does not make cannabis vaping risk-free.”
CPHO will monitor potential health impacts cannabis vaping products may have — especially on young people — and will continue to collect data about cannabis use and update public education campaigns to make sure people understand the risks.
Regulated products could curb illicit market
Paul Crabbe, director of operations for P.E.I. Cannabis, said the organization worked closely with the Department of Health and Wellness while making the decision to bring cannabis vapes into the P.E.I. market.
He said he hopes the legalization and regulation of prefilled cannabis vape products will cut down on the number of vapes being purchased through illicit markets.
Crabbe said currently people on P.E.I. can buy cannabis-infused vapes online, often from illegal websites. But it’s difficult to know what is actually inside those products, he said.
“The concern there was in the illicit market, after some testing has been done, we’re well aware that pesticide levels are very high, heavy metals, that sort of thing, so there’s certainly a concern,” Crabbe said.
He said it’s also difficult to know the concentration of THC in illicit products.
The changes being made on P.E.I. mean the products being sold in stores will be regulated and approved by Health Canada.
“But this is really about protecting public health and safety of Islanders and making sure they have safe, tested products on shelves.”
Crabbe said P.E.I. Cannabis is sorting through about 200 products — including some made on the Island — to establish what stores will offer. He said the hope is to have the first prefilled vapes on shelves next month.
