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OTTAWA – An RCMP officer smoking marijuana while in uniform “sets a very poor example for Canadians,” Justice Minister Peter MacKay said Thursday.

His comments come after CBC reported on a New Brunswick Mountie who has a medical exemption to smoke pot as a way to help control Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,which he suffers. Reassigned to desk duty, he’s allowed to smoke on the job, but was told not to do it in his red serge or regular Mountie uniform.

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“My observation is the same as for politicians, police: They fall in a similar category in the sense that it sets a very poor example to flout the law,” MacKay said in an interview Thursday. “It sets a very poor example for Canadians.”

MacKay would not comment on whether the conditions imposed by the RCMP on the Mountie in question are fair.

According to the CBC, Cpl. Ronald Francis obtained a prescription for three grams of medical marijuana a day earlier this month to control symptoms from PTSD suffered while serving in First Nations communities. But questions have been raised about the circumstances under which it’s appropriate for him to consume it.