Cigarette smokers may face more restrictions in Edmonton when cannabis is legalized in October.
City council continued debating a bylaw Tuesday that will govern where people can smoke cannabis, cigarettes or cigars.
Council had considered allowing cannabis in all public parks, beyond 30 metres of children’s amenities such as playgrounds.
Instead, proposed amendments to the bylaw would forbid marijuana in any public park where playgrounds exist at all, about two-thirds of the city’s parks, said Ryan Pleckaitis, director of complaints and investigations.
Ryan Pleckaitis, director for complaints and investigations, said proposed amendments to the bylaw would forbid marijuana and tobacco in any public park where playgrounds exist at all, about two-thirds of the city’s parks.
But the amendment also ties cigarette smoking to cannabis, meaning visitors to those parks could not smoke anything at all.
Coun. Michael Walters said he was particularly concerned about lax cannabis rules, but thinks it’s time the city updates its laws around smoking tobacco.
“We have a principle that says we don’t want to be modelling that kind of behaviour where children gather,” he said. “It makes some sense to couple those products in how we regulate them.”
Administration is recommending the changes as it would be easier to enforce rules around cannabis at the same time, Walters said.
The original bylaw presented in June requires cannabis smokers to be 10 metres from a doorway, patio or bus stop.
The proposed changes would force cigarette smokers, who currently can be as close as five metres, to do the same.
“While it’s more restrictive, I don’t think it’s sensible in a way to say you can smoke a cigarette within five metres of an open door but you have to smoke a joint 10 metres away from an open door,'” Walters said. “So alignment on public sidewalks makes a ton of sense.”
Walters said administration can work with local business improvement groups to designate areas where people can smoke in places like Whyte Avenue.
Last year, Edmonton transit authorities gave out more than 700 tickets for illegal smoking while the city’s peace officers gave out more than 300.
The city estimates they will need at least eight more full-time peace officers to enforce the amended bylaw.
The fine for smoking in restricted areas is $250.
Still, while pot smokers would be banned from hospital property, schools, child care facilities, golf courses, ski hills and off-leash areas, cigarette smokers would not be.