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.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom