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Castlegar council curtails public cannabis smoking

Changes to Castlegar’s zoning, business licensing and smoking bylaws were adopted Monday night
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Recreational pot is now legal across Canada. (Unsplash)

Marijuana may now be legal nationwide, but smoking it in public in Castlegar will still get you in trouble.

The federal legalization of recreational cannabis that came into effect Oct. 17 doesn’t really change much as far as public consumption is concerned.

Changes to Castlegar’s zoning, business licensing and smoking bylaws were adopted Monday night, just two days before legalization. Among other things, the changes forbid public smoking in most places in the city.

The bylaw bans smoking in parks, recreation grounds such as sports fields and outdoor rinks, workplaces, businesses where the public is invited to enter, public decks, restrooms, break rooms, common areas of apartment buildings, near doorways or entrance areas, in vehicles or boats. Essentially, you can’t smoke in any place where the public might encounter it.

The fine for smoking in a prohibited place is $100 if paid within 30 days, or $250 thereafter.

Castlegar headed for laid-back cannabis regulations

It’s not clear yet when residents will actually be able to get any legal marijuana locally.

The province has said only one retail outlet will be open in time for legalization, and that will be in Kamloops. However, people will be able to purchase cannabis products online and have them delivered by mail.

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Things are moving forward in Castlegar to establish a retail outlet, according to the city.

“To date, we have received two referrals from the province,” Phil Markin, the city’s director of development services, told the Castlegar News. “But we won’t be consulting with the public until they complete their fit and proper review.”

It’s not yet known when those reviews will be complete.

While the city is tightly restricting where you can smoke marijuana, it’s showing more leeway where you might buy it.

Under the zoning bylaw, there will be no limit on the number of pot shops that can open. There’ll be no minimum distance between stores, nor any setback established from schools or youth facilities. However, public hearings will be held before any location is approved.