A A

Krishna Parmar of Dart Frog Events says Halifax’s first cannabis pub crawl has been cancelled by the Alcohol and Gaming Authority.

The company says they went to the AGA a month ago and were told the alcohol-cannabis event was fine.

He said he doesn’t think it’s fair to cancel a cannabis pub crawl when the NSLC sells cannabis and alcohol in the same stores. He also said he’s confused why bars can also sell alcoholic drinks with energy drinks.

“In all the bars, you can find Red Bull and alcohol at the same time even though you shouldn’t have Red Bull with alcohol,” he says. “We’re all adults here and we let them make their own decisions.”

In an emailed statement, the AGA says they “did not approve or cancel this pub crawl.”

The crawl would have been held on Canada’s first legal 4-20, a counterculture holiday for cannabis users, with origins in early 1970s California.

Bar hop barred

On the first two stops of the crawl, participants were supposed to be given a prerolled joint per stop.

Parmar says the company feels left in the dark because the event company was contacted by the bars, rather than the AGA. They were contacted by the first bar with the news on Tuesday.

“We have questions, but no answers,” he says. “Why can’t we give out a couple joints? Why are some things okay, but not others?”

Parmar says the company decided to hold the event after previous pub crawlers said they wanted more cannabis focused events.

The Roxbury, Boston Pizza, Split Crow and Vinyl were scheduled to take part in the crawl. Parmar says they tried to pick bars close to designated smoking areas.

“There’s no event kind of like that in Nova Scotia,” he says. “A lot of people that smoke weed like to go downtown, but it was kind of hard to find events that catered to them.”

With last October’s federal legalization of cannabis, Parmar says new crowds of people have been attending the pub crawls, bringing their own cannabis with them.

Steve McMullin of Grafton Connor Group, owners of The Roxbury, says the company wasn’t aware the event company was supplying cannabis on the pub crawl.

“We knew (Dart Frog Events) were trying to co-ordinate the pub crawl but they cancelled,” he says.

Pot and booze dangerous: doctor

Dr. Ryan Sommers, of the Nova Scotia Health Authority, advises people not to consume alcohol and cannabis together.

“It’s a dangerous combination,” he says. “They both work to depress the central nervous system.”

Alcohol and cannabis can affect judgement, decision-making and reaction time.

A person’s sex, weight and their food intake can all impact how cannabis and alcohol affect someone’s experience, says Sommers.

He says studies on the effects of cannabis and alcohol being consumed together are still ongoing but says both together can increase intoxication.

Dart Frog Events says all tickets will be refunded immediately.

RELATED: