Article on Marijuana on boats

"Why are they called Mounties?"

The RCMP, commonly called 'Mounties' are Canada's national police force. They were formed in 1873 and did their march west to bring law and order to the Canadian prairie, then called the NW Territories. The settlers had not yet arrived, but the American whisky traders were wrecking havoc with the Indians. The Mounties needed to bring law and order to the Canadian west, make treaties with the Indians and make way for a peaceful settlement of the prairie. An interesting note was that the NWMP, as they were then called, was formed as a British Cavalry Regiment and was to be called a Regiment, but this was changed to Police at the last minute. There was fear that the force might be tested by the U.S. Cavalry if they were considered a military unit. The U.S. had eyes on the Canadian west as the American west was filling with settlers. Canada realized that they would have to occupy the land, so as not to loose it to the U.S..

The Mounties were dressed in traditional British Red Serge Uniforms so that they could be easily be seen by the Indians and others in the west. They still wear these Red Uniforms for dress occasions. Horses are used mostly for ceremonial purposes and the RCMP Musical Ride. Linked below is a short video that talks about the musical ride and a short history of the mounties. My neighbour was the commanding officer of the Musical Ride for 3 years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJZGR4-iBYE
 
Interesting point. Do the Mounties have a marine enforcement section, independent of the Coast Guard?
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The RCMP works jointly with the Canadian Coast Guard for the purposes of Marine Enforcement. On many freshwater lakes they are the sole enforcement and patrol,

In an emergency on many freshwater lakes in Canada you would contact the RCMP, On Salt Water if you are unable to contact the Canadian Coast Guard, then you should contact the RCMP,

My nephew is with the RCMP dive team and provides dive services for rescue, crime enforcement and body recovery,
 
All up and down the Inside passage in BC, the RCMP has boats. From 40-50 ft high speed catamarans down to 25 ft patrol boats. The RCMP can access any part of the BC waters by boat if necessary.

The Coast Guard in Canada is a safety/rescue organization that is not an armed force.
 
Larry H":3upm6lbh said:
The Coast Guard in Canada is a safety/rescue organization that is not an armed force.
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Someone please correct me if my hasty Googling has left me misinformed, but I gather that the Royal Canadian Navy has many of the the coastal surveillance and patrol responsibilities, "including general naval operations and exercises, search and rescue, law enforcement, resource protection and fisheries patrols," that, in the U.S., are functions of the Coast Guard.

In Canadian waters, which department—CCG, RCMP or RCM—performs the kind of random, on-the-water vessel inspections conducted in the states by the USCG?
 
In Canadian waters, which department—CCG, RCMP or RCM—performs the kind of random, on-the-water vessel inspections conducted in the states by the USCG?
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Good question and with a bit of research my best answer is all of the above and maybe a few others.

The short answer from Wikipedia is as follows.

"Unlike armed coast guards of some other nations, the CCG is a government marine organization without naval or law enforcement responsibilities. Naval operations in Canada's maritime environment are exclusively the responsibility of the Royal Canadian Navy. Enforcement of Canada's maritime-related federal statutes may be carried out by peace officers serving with various federal, provincial or even municipal law enforcement agencies.

Although CCG personnel are neither a naval nor law enforcement force, they may operate CCG vessels in support of naval operations, or they may serve an operational role in the delivery of maritime law enforcement and security services in Canadian federal waters by providing a platform for personnel serving with one or more law enforcement agencies. The CCG's responsibility encompasses Canada's 202,080-kilometre (109,110 nmi; 125,570 mi) long coastline, the longest of any nation in the world.[3] Its vessels and aircraft operate over an area of ocean and inland waters covering approximately 2.3 million square nautical miles (7.9×106 km2)."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Coast_Guard

With a small population, a very long coastline, millions of freshwater lakes, I think it comes down to who is available. In National Parks it will be the NP Wardens, in Provincial Parks it will be their rangers, in some areas it will be the RCMP or the local police. For fishing violations on 'salt water it would be the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and in fresh water it would be Provincial Fish and Wildlife Officers.

Most inspection of boats is carried out under Transport Canada. https://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/marinesafety/debs-menu.htm

TC also uses the services of Volunteer Organizations like the Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons for pleasure craft courtesy checks.

I think that a variety of Peace Officers can enforce the regulations of various agencies, depending who is available in the area.

I think that if dealing with criminal activity, like drug smuggling, they would call out the RCMP first and it is unlikely that they would involve the Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons. I also think that is is unlikely that they would use the Royal Canadian Navy to check if you have enough life jackets on your pleasure boat.

So, I think that in Canadian waters you need to watch out for all types of Law Enforcement Craft instead of just the Canadian Coast Guard. Best just to play by the rules and stay out of trouble.
 
In my 30+ years of visiting BC waters, I have never been stopped or inspected by any Canadian official. I also do not break the rules or act rude.

I would say that if you are fishing in a popular/crowded fishing area you might be stopped by a Fisheries Patrol vessel. I did get briefly questioned by an RCMP officer who was doing Fisheries Patrol activity at Big Bay, Sonora Island, BC. The officer was on the dock and asking each boat if they had any sport caught fish aboard (I did not). I used the opportunity to ask a couple of questions about the somewhat confusing fishing regs.

Another area where you might be stopped/inspected is at or near the US/Canada border. I have seen Canada border patrol vessels there.

Best advice is to try to follow the rules and act politely to everyone. Politeness is a Canadian thing, and it pays to act the same.
 
Thanks Peter and Judy, that's helpful (why didn't I think to check Wikipedia?). In the states, too, there are literally dozens of organizations with authority (and, often, boats to back it up) to conduct on-the-water police activities. Coast Guard, Navy, U.S. marshals, Homeland Security, Drug Enforcement, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, National Park Service, state park services, Forest Service, state Fish and Wildlife, state natural resources, United States Postal Inspection Service, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, United States Government Printing Office Police (no kidding, they exist) ... local sheriff departments, local police, BATF, FBI, INS, BLM, BIA ... Who wouldn't want a boat? Who'd I miss?

So, anyway, umm, you're right: best policy, on either side of the border, is to just keep our noses clean. :rainbow
 
Not only have I heard of Becker, I once took a class from him while I attended UC Berkeley in the mid-60s. He was quite a controversial figure around the Berkeley campus. Students loved him; the administration......well, not so much :wink:.
 
Anyone who does not believe that this is on the rise in America is a fool or blind or naïve.
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I just read this article. The author makes a very common mistake often made by folks who are not scientifically trained (yes, I am so trained).

There is a huge difference between correlation and cause/effect. In this article this distinction is not made. Given how the article describes the study, there is no way to tell which is the cause and which is the effect in the correlation found between pot and psychosis. Does the psychosis result from smoking pot; or do folks prone toward psychosis often choose to smoke pot (just as they might drink alcohol, or perhaps be obsessive about waxing their car, or a dozen or more other things that psychotics may potentially be more prone to do as psychotics). The two behaviors may be correlated, true, but that does not tell you which is the cause and which is the effect.
 
OK, so perhaps we can all agree there hasn't been sufficient research, yet, to reach definitive conclusions about the short- and long-term health effects of cannabis use. But, as Malcolm Gladwell observes in this recent New Yorker Magazine article, there is enough info out there right now to give us lots of pause before advocating its use.
 
Bear in mind two facts:

1. Marijuana was illegal to possess--and thus very few real scientific studies have been done. Even the effect on seizures, pain relief, anti nausea etc have not had valid studies done.

2. There is big money behind the "success" of the business of marijuana.
 
Big money indeed. Big marketing, too.

In the above-mentioned New Yorker article, the author recounts a researcher's visit to the first recreational-marijuana facility in Massachusetts. Here's what the researcher found on the menu — "each offering laced with large amounts" of THC:

—Strawberry-flavored chewy bites.

—Large, citrus gummy bears.

—Delectable Belgian dark chocolate bars.

—Assorted fruit-flavored chews.

—Assorted fruit-flavored cubes.

—Raspberry flavored confection.

—Raspberry flavored lozenges.

—Chewy, cocoa caramel bite-sized treats.

—Raspberry & watermelon flavored lozenges.

—Chocolate-chip brownies.
 
“Drugs and drink are the two arms of the devil with which he strikes
his helpless slaves into stupefaction and intoxication.” -- Mahatma Gandhi

Aye.
 
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