File photo courtesy of © Can Stock Photo / SoruEpotokFile photo courtesy of © Can Stock Photo / SoruEpotok
Windsor

Health unit seeks to clear the air on weed guidelines

With recreational pot becoming legal in less than a month, the chair of the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit is calling for clarity.

Health unit chair Gary McNamara, who is also Tecumseh's mayor, said there is too much confusion amongst municipal and law enforcement officials and the general public about what the rules and guidelines are going to be when marijuana becomes legal in Canada October 17.

McNamara said enforcement on the street and in apartment buildings is going to be a nightmare and there are no firm answers yet on dealing with those issues.

"It's confusion on our end and we don't even know what to tell our staff, our bylaw enforcement officers or police," McNamara said.

McNamara said he believes it will take a couple of years to sort out enforcement, retail sales and other issues surrounding recreational cannabis, calling the first couple of years "an extreme learning curve for all of us".

Recreational pot will be regulated by the Ontario Alcohol and Gaming Commission but McNamara said he hasn't received any regulations yet. Each household will be allowed to have four plants and people will be able to order recreational marijuana through the province. McNamara added that he is unsure how that will be policed.

McNamara said legal pot can quickly become a hornet's nest if clear direction doesn't come forward in the next few weeks.

"It's like a runaway train that's coming and we haven't figured out how to stop it yet or at least manage it," the mayor said.

McNamara said Tecumseh has already decided to ban pot smoking in all public places, including parks and workplaces.

"It's not black and white right now and everybody thinks it's going to be the wild west on October 17th but it certainly won't be," said McNamara.

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