Edmonton councillors to consider long list of no-toke zones

City councillors are grappling with where, when and how people use recreational cannabis in public spaces in Edmonton.

"It's a real challenge, balancing the rights and interests of people," saysCoun.ScottMcKeen."We have to get our regulations at an appropriate level."

Provincial regulations already restrictsmoking or vaping cannabis in the same wayas tobacco, though they further limituse around children and youth.

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The long list of no-toke zones under consideration include:

• Family-friendly attractions, such as Churchill Square, Fort Edmonton Park and the Edmonton Valley Zoo.
• Hospital, school or child-care facility properties.
• Playgrounds, sports fields, skate parks,outdoor pools and splash pads, cemeteries, golf courses, skating rinks and off-leash areas.

Solidifying the list, expected to happenover the next month, will be a balancing act, McKeen said.

McKeen said Alberta Health Services, which raisesconcerns about intoxication, secondhand smoke inhalation and the normalization forthose underage,recommends starting out with more rigid rules.

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Council's community and public services committee will consider two options when discussing regulations Wednesday.

Two options

The more lenient optionpermits smoking and vaping in designated areas at festivals and onmost parkland, as long as people are 30 metres away fromamenities.

People would be allowed to light uponsidewalks,roadways and on public, private property, such as a mall, subject to rules enforced by landowners.

The stricter optionwould still allow people to smoke or vape in designated areas at festivals, but prohibiting the use of the drug on parkland containingamenities orin the river valley.

It would also bar recreational cannabis use fromsidewalks,roadways and on public, private property.

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"As the culture rolls out, as the practice rolls out, as the business of it rolls out, we'll have a much better idea," McKeen said. "Things will change over time.

"We've heard in other jurisdictions that smoking of cannabis drops off very rapidly as the edibles and drinkables come in," he said.

McKeen said council will be scrambling to come up with regulations that accommodate bystanders but protectsthe rights of users.

"It's a challenge," he said.

roberta.bell@cbc.ca

@roberta__bell