Cities brace for legal cannabis as PCs change the rules

Advocates applaud looser rules, but bylaw officials worry about smoke complaints

WATERLOO REGION — Ontarians will be able to legally buy and publicly use marijuana in less than three weeks — and what comes after Oct. 17 will either be the “wild west” or good for the province, depending on who you ask.

The Ford government’s plan to place no limits on the number of cannabis stores, while allowing public consumption of marijuana, has city bylaw departments worrying about an influx of smoke-related complaints.

Until this week, bylaw officials were working on the assumption marijuana would only be allowed to be smoked in private residences. Now, under a change announced by the Progressive Conservatives, people will be able to smoke cannabis wherever they can smoke tobacco.

“It’s a big concern for us. We weren’t prepared for it this early in the game,” said Shayne Turner, director of municipal enforcement services for the City of Waterloo. “We know we’re going to get a lot of complaints about odours in public places. You can smoke in parks, but maybe not close to a soccer field or ball diamond ... Or people will be smoking on sidewalks and the smells will be drifting into homes and businesses.”

But marijuana advocates are applauding the government’s move to allow more access to legal cannabis and fewer restrictions around using it.

“This is a good decision for Ontario,” said Kitchener’s Peter Thurley, who sits on the advisory board for Canadians for Fair Access to Medical Marijuana. “It won’t necessarily mean the black market is eliminated right away. But it’s much more likely when you have greater access to legal sources that the black market may become irrelevant.”

Starting on Oct. 17, those over 19 will be able to legally order marijuana online through the Ontario Cannabis Store. Privately run retail stores won’t be allowed until next April, and cities have until the end of January to decide whether to ban them from their communities. Under the previous Liberal government, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario would have had a monopoly on the sale of recreational cannabis, and planned to open as many as 150 retail stores by 2020.

Thurley warns there may be supply shortages and delays in the weeks after the legal market takes over the sale of marijuana — especially if police doubledown on their efforts to close black market dispensaries. But he’s happy the government is allowing public consumption, which means tenants in co-op housing or apartment buildings will be allowed to use marijuana in designated smoking sites outdoors. He doesn’t think there will be much public outcry from nonsmokers, and feels concerns over second-hand smoke are overblown.

“At the end of the day, nothing is going to change for regular folks who don’t use cannabis. There’s no coming crisis of pot smoke,” Thurley said. “The stoners who use cannabis are already using cannabis.”

The head of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, meanwhile, criticized what he called a government decision that favours “cannabis profiteers” and leaves municipalities to deal with the problems.

“Unlimited stores and unlimited places to smoke will cause unlimited problems,” said Warren (Smokey) Thomas. “It’s outrageous. We’re going to become the wild west of cannabis and Sheriff Doug Ford is going to skip town, leaving communities and municipalities holding the dime bag.”

Not everyone is expecting chaos after Oct. 17, although some predict the laws may need to evolve after marijuana is legal.

“Municipalities and the province can look to see how it’s rolling out, and make adjustments. We can continue to update laws and bylaws as we go along if there are issues,” said Kathryn McGarry, the former Liberal MPP who’s running for mayor of Cambridge.

Cities need to have the final say on where cannabis stores are located in their communities, she said. But Turner adds it’s not known yet whether municipalities will have the ability to control cannabis shops through zoning. Allowing legal storefronts is a good move because they give the public confidence they’re buying a safe product, McGarry said.

“Marijuana that’s sold in regulated stores will at least give those who are purchasing it more confidence in the quality of the product. I think that’s a big advantage for public safety,” McGarry said.

The province also announced licensed marijuana producers like Kitchener’s James E. Wagner Cultivation will only be able to open one retail store, which could derail some producers’ larger retail plans. Guelph MPP and Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner, meanwhile, said the government should give priority to small businesses who want to run cannabis shops, and not large corporations in the pot industry.

“The cannabis market should not be a windfall for large corporate players with inside access to the premier’s office,” he said.