Thursday, both Chapleau and Côté hit on the same editorial cartoon idea, based on the mayor of Quebec City hoping to clamp down on cannabis.
Are people really going to consume more pot once it’s legal (although heavily circumscribed), or start using it when they didn’t previously? I often smell smoke in the street, from people passing a joint to and fro as they walk, or folks smoking on their front steps or whatever. That isn’t new. Individuals having a toke has been tolerated here for a long time.
Most people I know tried cannabis long ago and came to their own conclusions about it – I can’t imagine official legalization will change this in any way. Never heard anyone say “I’d smoke pot, but not till it’s legalized.”
I suppose I’ll be glad to have legal access as I get older and creakier, but that doesn’t mean I’ll be rushing out for a pack of special Quebec no-cannabis-leaf brand spliffs on October 17.
But I can’t see why authorities are being so repressive about it. It will be federally legal, the people who consume it will go on consuming it, and life will go on. An occasional whiff of pot smoke in the street isn’t going to kill anybody.
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