Pubdate: Thu, 19 Aug 2010 Source: Province, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2010 Canwest Publishing Inc. Contact: http://www.canada.com/theprovince/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/theprovince/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) WE'RE TOO TOLERANT OF PUBLIC MARIJUANA USE If you head out for a walk of any distance in Vancouver these days, or in many other parts of the Lower Mainland, you won't get far before having your senses assaulted by the cloying stench of marijuana. A walk around the Stanley Park seawall, or along any of our beautiful beaches, virtually guarantees numerous encounters with clouds of other people's pot smoke. More frustrating, especially for parents, is the casual way in which pot smokers now so frequently plunk down in city parks and merrily puff away, oblivious to the fact that they're near playgrounds or tennis courts where other park users likely don't want to smell their foul, and still illegal, habit. How did we reach the point as a society where cigarette smokers - who are consuming a legal product and paying huge levels of taxes as a result - are cowering in lanes and other out-of-the way spots to avoid the wrath of non-smokers but potheads are merrily lighting up wherever and whenever they want? Marijuana remains an illegal drug in Canada, even in pot-tolerant B.C., and the province's famously potent hydroponic bud is a serious drug that no sensible parent would want their child to get mixed up in. While it's clear Canada is heading toward legalizing the drug, and public opinion on the issue continues to liberalize, pot smokers should remember that not everyone wants to witness, or smell, open drug use, especially in areas where children are present. If they want to toke up, they should do it at home. And the police should work harder to ensure they do. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom