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.