Marijuana public places | Fifth Ave Green House

Should marijuana be treated like alcohol in public places?

Marijuana has entered the mainstream: 23 states allow marijuana for recreational use and 40 states allow marijuana for medical purposes.

According to Pew Research report from 2022A full 90 percent believe it should be legal in some form, and even Fox News reported on it in its business segment.

However, with legalization comes many rules, policies and guidelines for use.

We've seen this before with smoking and alcohol, and now it's starting with marijuana. Should marijuana be consumed in public places the same way alcohol is? Would it make things easier for everyone involved?

Smoking tobacco is harmful, but the tobacco lobby is arguing bitterly about where one is allowed to light a cigarette.

Until the 1970s, smoking was allowed everywhere: on airplanes, in hospitals, restaurants, schools, churches, at work, etc.

Looking back, it seems incredible to think about it. The pressure to ban smoking on airplanes came from the public, from Ralph Nader, and from flight attendant unions like the Association of Flight Attendants. United Airlines was the first airline to introduce smoke-free areas in 1971. Back then, you could sit in the row behind the smoking area, which was considered OK. Surprisingly, smoking was not banned in hospitals until 1993. It wasn't until 2003 that New York passed the Smoke-Free Air Act (SFAA), which banned smoking in bars, restaurants, indoor public spaces, parks, beaches, and pedestrian areas.

For today's generation, smoke-free air is a given.

When it came to alcohol, the United States tried the crazy but failed experiment called Prohibition, which banned all alcoholic beverages. This lesson taught everyone how to break the law without feeling guilty.

Between 1975 and 1990, cities and states slowly began implementing laws against open bottles of alcohol in response to the decriminalization of public drunkenness and homelessness. Meanwhile, the acceptance of alcohol in public places, especially family-friendly places, was lower. The two major exceptions are New Orleans and the Las Vegas Strip. Exceptions were made during and after the COVID-19 pandemic due to limited space in indoor dining areas of restaurants and bars.

Unlike cigarettes, alcohol is not prohibited, but should not be transported in an open container. Smoking/vaping cannabis be treated equally?

In Duluth, Minnesota, the city council listened to more than an hour of public testimony from concerned citizens as the state's fifth-largest city considers whether to ban people from smoking marijuana in public parks. Other cities in the state are considering similar rules. Right now, you can smell marijuana on the streets in most major cities. This is unpleasant for some people for a variety of reasons.

Open consumption alcohol laws in the United States do not prohibit alcohol consumption, but rather set guidelines for the public. As the way we consume cannabis changes, it makes sense to create some laws that can be accepted by the public, that provide a legal avenue for consumers, and that strike the right balance for a harmonious society.

The Smoke-Free Ontario Act 2017 could be an example to start with. This regulates where it is legal to smoke or vape cannabis. Most indoor public spaces or enclosed areas, children's playgrounds, sports stadiums, and bus stops are prohibited. However, the law allows consumption in private residences, guest rooms in hotels and motels designated as smoking rooms, and many outdoor public spaces such as sidewalks and parks. This seems like a good compromise, but what do you think? Where do you think it should be legal/illegal to smoke or vape cannabis?