[ad_1]
Canada is a few days away from legalizing cannabis, but when apartment buildings, schools and other places prohibit smoking on their premises, some amateurs are afraid they will not be able to smoke. exercise their newly acquired rights.
Across Canada, smoking is prohibited at entrances and in bars, restaurants, offices and even parks.
These rules are supported by decades of research linking tobacco use, including occasionally, to an increased risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease
While inspiring anti-smoking campaigns from the 1980s and 90s, private and public space managers are now rushing to crack down on cannabis before legalization comes into effect Wednesday in order to prevent the same problems stemming from pot smoke.
But the move provoked a violent reaction, especially from the tenants who face "being left behind" and who can not consume what will be a legal product.
"When the legalization will be effective, only people who own their home will consume it because the rentals have been restricted to smoking," said AFP, Shawn MacAleese, defender of the pot and tenant.
"The idea that you will be able to buy a product but not use that product unless you own your own home or property is ridiculous," he said.
Canada will become the only country in the world to legalize cannabis on October 17, after Uruguay, which led the way in December 2013.
According to government statistics, approximately 13% of Canadians currently smoke tobacco.
In contrast, about 4.6 million Canadians, or 16% of the population, have used cannabis this year and this number is not expected to increase significantly once the psychotropic drug is legalized, according to a recent Statistics survey. Canada.
A recent report from the Canadian Cancer Society indicates that 65 of the more than 260 university and college campuses across the country have banned marijuana smoking or vaping, commending them for "providing a healthier environment" for students.
Others resisted, including the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, whose spokesman, Hubert Lai, told local media that the institution did not want to "drive the behavior under Earth".
Rentals on the rise
Dorothy Church of Condo Management Group, the largest residential property manager in Ottawa (who oversees more than 300 buildings), said most condominium associations have asked for restrictions to be put in place. here on October 17th.
"The majority of condominium owners do not want marijuana in their buildings," she said because of her pungent smell and health problems.
About 4.5 million, or almost one-third of Canada's 14 million households, are renters, with rental demand outstripping the purchase demand for the first time in decades.
The air flows between apartment units or condominiums for the most part, intentionally, in order to comply with the rules of the building and fire code. The smoke can also move, for example, a balcony in the open window of a neighbor.
"We are at a time when people are becoming sensitive to chemical odors, cleaning products and cigarettes.We will hear a (condo) owner complaining to a neighbor who burns incense or uses plug-ins (scented) on his behalf, "said the church.
"The smell of marijuana is much stronger."
Some apartment and condominium residents are already considering challenging these rules, but lawyers consulted by AFP have indicated that they were hopeful to hold on.
Exceptions are made for marijuana users for medical purposes.
"Messy" legal framework
After hearing from the pot promoters, Calgary in June became the first city in Canada to designate public spaces for smoking pots in parks and festivals.
But the settlement was rescinded after being deemed impracticable due to a clause requiring neighborhood consultations in each case. It also contravened a provincial ban on smoking in public.
Calgary city councilor Jyoti Gondek called the legislative framework for cannabis "messy".
"We will have legalized cannabis, but as a society, we always despise it," said the former sociologist.
"As municipalities, we tend to try to manage social disorder through planning principles," which can lead to "weird" results like this, she said.
Gondek suggested that the best solution would be to relax the anti-smoking rules to allow the cannabis use of cannabis, but believes that there is no political will to do so.
"It's too complicated," she concluded.
MacAleese agrees with the need to create "consumer spaces".
"If we can not consume cannabis in a lounge or bar, if we do not own it and if we do not consume it in public, what exactly does the government expect from us legal cannabis?" he said.
Explore further:
Canada makes final preparations before cannabis becomes legal
