More pot smoking can mean more crime, Sudbury police chief says

Sudbury's police chief says he worries new rules for medical marijuana will mean more pot on the streets and more work for his officers.

The federal government is currently licensing commercial medical marijuana grow-ops across the country.

There are at least six companies in Sudbury applying for a licence.

If prescription pot is grown in the city, it will mean more of it being smoked in the city, Chief Paul Pedersen said.

"And that, of course, can result in all sorts of crimes from retaliatory crimes to impaired by drugged driving crimes and that is a workload pressure that we expect will come to our organization."

The Sudbury police services board is calling on federal government to work more closely with local police when it comes to granting marijuana growing licences.