Have you ever tried putting toothpaste back into the tube? Likely not, and why would you? It would be both a messy and futile exercise.
St. Albert city council needs to avoid the old toothpaste-back-in-the-tube scenario as it prepares to deal with the legalization of pot, and that means council should steer clear of what Edmonton is contemplating.
The City of Edmonton’s community and public services committee, which is made up of a handful of city councillors, is set to recommend some of the most relaxed bylaws in North America when it comes to the public consumption of cannabis. If council accepts the recommendations, you’d be able to freely enjoy a joint on any of Edmonton’s walking trails, parks in the river valley (that don’t have playgrounds), any sidewalk, boulevard, alleyway or roadway.
Edmonton’s local politicians seem to be treating pot consumption like that of tobacco, which is the wrong approach. Marijuana use causes impairment, just like alcohol. We can’t consume alcohol in public spaces, so why should we be able to smoke dope in public spaces? Calgary is planning to ban all public consumption, as is Toronto and Winnipeg. Even American cities that have a lengthy history of legalized pot, such as Portland and Denver, don’t allow public consumption.
Readers may recall the release of St. Albert’s marijuana survey, which indicated a narrow majority (only 52 per cent) of respondents were against smoking pot in public. The survey also revealed that 41 per cent of respondents thought pot smoking should be allowed in the same places as tobacco. Both results are troubling, and are likely indicative of a lack of public education surrounding marijuana use.
Tobacco use in public spaces used to be a social norm just a handful of decades ago. Smoking in the office, in a restaurant, in the arena, and even on an airplane was regarded as a completely natural thing to do. Cigarette advertising glorified smoking as a cool, fashionable part of everyday life. Movie stars did it. There were smoking chairs, smoking jackets and smoking lounges. Pre-teens and teens couldn’t wait to get their hands on a pack of smokes. Smoking completely permeated society.
It has taken the better part of 40 years for society to come around on the risks smoking, and second-hand smoke, poses to health. By relaxing the rules on pot smoking, are we not eroding the progress we’ve made over the last four-plus decades?
St. Albert city council will do well to apply strict controls on cannabis consumption when pot is legalized, likely this fall. It’s far easier to lessen the rules, if need be, as we move through the pot-legalization experience than to start out liberally and tighten the restrictions at a later date. It’s nearly impossible to put the toothpaste back into the tube.
