MD’s cannabis usage bylaw would prohibit smoking in camping stalls

The M.D. of Bonnyville went through the first and second reading of their cannabis bylaw.

The public consumption of cannabis in bylaw says that it cannot be had in any public place, workplace, public transportation vehicle, or any private motor vehicle, with the exception of a temporary residence like an RV.

Campers at a campground would not be allowed to consume in their camping stall and would have to smoke in their camper.

“It’s going to be just like alcohol where it won’t be allowed on public roadways,” said M.D. Deputy Reeve Ben Fadeyiw on The Morning After.

“The discussion before has been campsites. That’s been fairly controversial. It’s been good to see there have been lots of comments from council on that. Do we allow it in the whole campsite? Or do we allow it just in the camper itself? That’s where it’s going to go for now,” said Fadeyiw.

One of the main reasons is that the smell could get in the way of others enjoying their camping.

“You can smoke your weed in your camper, but not outside. I had a lot of concerns from ratepayers and tourists about the odour and smell if there’s five people next to you is that smell going to impede my having fun at a campsite,” said Fadeyiw.

During the council meeting, they elected to not do all three readings of the bylaw in one sitting to give council more time to discuss.

Council will likely proceed with third reading at their next meeting on April 10.

“What you’re seeing here is a fairly standard bylaw that municipalities are adopting. I did check with a few municipalities and they are in line with what we’re doing here,” said MD director of public safety, Chris Garner during the meeting.

“I think it’s a new thing. We’re bringing in a bylaw, if we do need to make adjustments to the bylaw, amendments and that type of thing, we can certainly do that once we see how it’s working.”

“We are getting close to summer, so it would be nice to have this in place before summer begins,” said Garner.