POT SMOKE RUINED CONCERT

My husband and I attended the Tragically Hip concert on Sunday night at the
Ottawa Civic Centre. The music was great, the concert excellent. The
security was disappointing.

The abundant numbers of security people seemed more concerned about
stopping people from dancing in the aisles than cracking down on those who
felt it necessary to smoke marijuana. Smoking of any kind is not allowed in
the Civic Centre, yet a blind eye was turned to this illegal activity (and
I support the legalization of pot).

My husband and I left feeling quite ill and the people beside us were
forced to leave. The five people smoking marijuana behind us made no effort
to conceal what they were doing, they often waved their toke up in the air
in time to the music. At one point, security personnel pointed to them --
it seemed as though they were going to crack down, but nothing happened.

This is a totally disgraceful way to run a concert. The crowd on the floor
was well-behaved, their dancing hurt no one. The folks in our section (five
rows up, centre) were tarnishing the show for many of us and yet no one
wanted to enforce the law.

L.A. Vail, Ottawa