MADD to offer intoxication training to cannabis store staff

The head of Mothers Against Drunk Driving in Canada says people who work in stores that sell pot need to be trained the same way liquor store staff are trained to prevent intoxicated driving.

MADDCanada has partnered with Lift, a company that provides information about cannabis strains and producers, to offer a retail training certification program for frontline staff in future cannabisretailoutlets across the country.

MADDCanada CEO Andrew Murie told CBCRadio's All In A Day staff at these stores will need to be knowledgeable about what's being sold whatstrains do what, what percentage of THCthe strains havebut that one of the biggest concerns in selling cannabis is knowing when not to sell it.

"We want to have responsible servicefor cannabis, denying people that are minors that are trying to purchase and also anybody that might be intoxicated, whether by cannabis or alcohol," he said.

Signs of intoxication by cannabis are not the same asalcohol and teaching staff the difference will initially be very difficult, he added.

"It's harder for cannabis," Muriesaid, "andwe don't have decades of training and frontline experience to do it."

Headded thattraining could start off in aclassroom setting bylooking at various scenarios andvideos to help staff identify signs of intoxication. Eventually, as new employees come on,the trainingwould likely shift online, he said.

Provincial roll out

Each province iscoming up with itsown planonhow to licence and oversee distribution ofpot once it's legalized on July 1, 2018.

In Ontario,the provincial government planstoopenstand-alone stores, allrunby the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. But unlike LCBO stores, patrons won't be able to browse aisles and pick out the products they want. Instead, cannabis will be available in a behind-the-counter setup, similar to buying cigarettes.

Other provinces will have retail locations operated by private companies and Muriesaid each province will determine how training will be rolled out.

"The training is going happen in the new year, after governments make decisions on who's going to be the provider," he said.

"Some [provinces] ... might want to outsource that to a third party like ourselves," Murieadded. "Or in the private market, it might be a requirement of government that they have to be trained, and they'll specify who will provide that training."