No smoking grass on the greens, urges MacFarlane

Smoking the green stuff while putting on the green is a grass regulation that doesn’t appeal to Karla MacFarlane.

That’s why the Pictou West MLA is pressing the governing Liberals to close a loophole in the provincial Cannabis Control Act, to prevent people from smoking weed on golf courses.

“You can now light up a joint on any golf club but the Liberals will not come clean and tell us why this is so,” said MacFarlane. “Everyone is perplexed as to why golf clubs are exempt.”

She pointed out that similar outdoor sports venues such as tennis courts, soccer fields and sports stadiums ban smoking of any kind.

The government for its part says that the Smoke-free Places Act aims to limit exposure to secondhand smoke in indoor and some outdoor areas, saying an exemption applies only to outdoor areas where golf is played on publicly owned courses.

But MacFarlane, interim leader of the Progressive Conservatives, tabled an amendment to close the CCA’s loophole. Both the NDP and Liberal MLAs defeated it, she said.

“It’s very clandestine,” said MacFarlane.

The PCs have previously criticized the minimum legal age for buying cannabis as too low at just 19, citing medical concerns of the drug’s possible impact on brain development.

Secondly, she warned against selling alcohol and cannabis from the same location, which the government plans to do using existing NSLC stores. MacFarlane was also unhappy that the CCA did not include an education and awareness campaign on the health effects of cannabis aimed at youth prior to legalization.

“We are not one bit prepared to protect our youth,” said MacFarlane.

However, Minister of Justice Mark Furey said in an emailed statement Wednesday that public education and awareness “is a vital part of our work to prepare for the legalization of cannabis.”

“We’ve been working closely with our partners – MADD Canada, the federal government, and the NSLC – to identify the areas we need to focus and ensure these efforts are co-ordinated,” said Furey.

He said that the NSLC has a social responsibility mandate that will including barring minors from the cannabis sections in its stores.

NSLC stores will also properly train staff, inform customers of the risk of mixing cannabis and alcohol, banning cross-promotion of such products and stocking alcohol/tobacco and cannabis in physically separated spaces.

“As we work toward the legalization of cannabis, the health and safety of Nova Scotians, especially children and youth, is our top priority,” said Furey.

The News also contacted a local golf club for their perspective, but they did not wish to comment on the record.