The Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer who had his iconic uniform seized after being seen in a video smoking a joint on the job last November died of an apparent suicide on Oct. 6. Francis suffered from PTSD.
"There's no policy that prevents me as a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police from smoking marijuana," he contended at the time. "I do have the legal right to smoke it in my red surge."
The red suit of clothes, known as the serge, was taken by fellow officers on Nov. 21. Francis, who lived in Kingsclear First Nation, New Brunswick, still had his badge, but was placed on medical leave.
He first used anti-depressants to combat job-related PTSD. Francis received a medical marijuana prescription from the Canadian government on Nov. 4.
"I calms you down totally," he said. "You don't get stoned, you don't get disoriented. It allows you to concentrate on your task… It keep me on a level. It works very well for me."
Assistant RCMP commissioner Gilles Moreau couldn't care less. "Definitely a member (of the RCMP) that has been prescribed medicinal marijuana should not be in the red serge taking his medication," he stated. "It's not something that we would support or condone."
About the RCMP, who he'd worked for for 21 years, Francis railed, "The organization as a whole is broken. The management is broken. The structure is broken… If they plan to fire me, I will sue them."
Francis' sentencing was scheduled for next month. Despondent, instead he took his own life.
