Article content continued

Karlinsky recorded some of the encounter on his cellphone, which appears to show he wasn’t in a prohibited space.

“They are still writing me a ticket, very professional,” he says on the video of the two female officers.

When a police sergeant arrived as he’d requested, the officer asks if his medical permit carries an exemption to where he can smoke cannabis, with Karlinsky telling him it’s spelled out in the bylaw.

“Which bylaw do you have?” the police sergeant then asks him.

A moment later, Karlinsky says he’s “another officer that doesn’t seem to know the law.”

Says the sergeant: “So that’s three of us, so just take it to court, you have that opportunity.”

Before they left, one of the bike-riding constables issued Karlinsky a $155 ticket for not updating the changed home address on his driver’s licence within the required two-week period.

“You guys are just bullies,” he said to the two constables, who remained calm and even smiling.

Police say their officers’ cameras, which recorded the entire episode, shows Karlinsky seemed intoxicated, was belligerent from the start and that he only produced online medical cannabis proof on his cellphone, which isn’t sufficient.

But Karlinsky said officers never told him that was inadequate, adding he’s never possessed a patient card.

Despite its legal status, even recreationally, Karlinsky said authorities continue to stigmatize cannabis as if it’s prohibited.

He doubts either ticket will stand up in court, since the $155 penalty resulted from what he believes is a wrongfully issued smoking ticket.