Pubdate: Sun, 29 Jun 2014
Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)
Copyright: 2014 Times Colonist
Contact: http://www2.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/letters.html
Website: http://www.timescolonist.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481
Author: Bill Cleverley
Page: A1

SECOND-HAND POT SMOKE LOOMS

Mayor Raises Issue of Clampdown If and When Marijuana Is Legalized

Second-hand marijuana smoke is an issue waiting in the wings for 
local politicians and health officials to tackle as soon as it's 
legal, says Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins.

"There's enough second-hand smoke going on out there with marijuana 
and it's a very pungent odour," Desjardins said in an interview.

"The problem is that it shouldn't be out there, according to the laws."

Desjardins raised the issue last week as members of the Capital 
Regional District's planning, transportation and protective services 
committee considered the possibility of including electronic 
cigarettes in an expanded Clean Air Bylaw.

If approved by the CRD board, the bylaw would extend a ban on smoking 
tobacco to beaches, parks, playing fields, public squares and 
playgrounds in the Greater Victoria area, and increase the buffer 
zone around building doorways, windows and air intakes to seven 
metres from three.

Committee members endorsed expanding the ban but not a suggestion 
from Island chief medical health officer Dr. Richard Stanwick to 
include e-cigarettes in the ban.

Stanwick had suggested that the devices, which produce vapour by 
heating a flavoured liquid, act as a gateway for youth to become 
addicted to nicotine. But the committee decided against their 
inclusion, saying that because the effects are still unknown, 
including them would be premature.

Desjardins, the committee chairwoman, suggested that the region 
should consider the issue of second-hand marijuana smoke. Nobody 
offered even a word of debate.

She said it was understandable that directors wouldn't want to deal 
with the issue now.

"I imagine it would have just confused the bylaw because you really 
can't regulate [the use of] something that's illegal, because it 
shouldn't have been out there anyway," Desjardins said.

Still, Desjardins said, she continues to hear from members of the 
public who are concerned about marijuana smoke.

"What they've said to me is the smoke, the smell from marijuana is so 
much worse. It's not uncommon to smell it when you go by a park, when 
you're walking downtown, and I'm speaking more about Victoria," she said.

"But it's out there and how do you deal with it? I guess we have to 
deal with the legality of it first and then we can regulate it," 
Desjardins said.

"If it becomes legal, then we can clamp down on it."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom