CALGARY—A report presented to city council on Monday recommends allowing marijuana consumption in designated spaces at festivals and events.

The report, which council had yet to address as of press time, says making an exception will help to move second-hand smoke away from people who don’t want to partake, while responding to “the current realities of cannabis consumption at festivals and events.”

Earlier in June, when council floated the possibility of modifying bylaws to allow space for event attendees to smoke marijuana, Calgary Folk Music Festival executive director Sara Leishman raised concerns about the additional expense that events would have to take on “with no opportunity to recoup costs through sales of sponsorship.”

Calgarians would be able to consume, but not buy, marijuana in these spaces, since the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission bars the sale of recreational cannabis anywhere except licensed cannabis retail spaces.

In Alberta, municipal bylaws for public marijuana consumption can’t provide any leeway beyond the restrictions that already exist for cigarette smoking. Some other provinces, including Ontario, plan to ban marijuana in public spaces entirely.

Alberta’s cities are taking different approaches on where people are allowed to smoke, vape or consume edibles, and so far, experts say, Calgary has taken a more restrictive path than some of its counterparts.

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Fiona Clement, an associate professor at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine, said restricting marijuana in a manner similar to tobacco is a good starting point, but cities including Calgary are still grappling with issues, such as how to limit passive exposure to smoke.

“Remembering cannabis right now is an illegal drug and it’s not that uncommon to walk down the street and get that whiff or to see someone actively smoking — already we do have a public ban in place and it’s not effective,” she said.

According to 2012 data from Statistics Canada, about 12 per cent of Canadians reported using marijuana in the previous year.

Clement said there isn’t much data available that sheds light on the long-term effects of exposure to marijuana smoke, and that’s something researchers will be examining closely after legalization.

“Unlike tobacco, where we do have decades of research that supports increased cancer risk and association with respiratory illnesses ... we do not have that evidence base for cannabis in terms of passive exposure.”

U of C assistant professor Rebecca Haines-Saah said Calgary is beginning with a fairly strict approach, but things could change once the results of legalization are clearer.

“I think we need to take a deep breath and not panic,” she said. “The transition is not going to happen overnight and I don’t think public smoking will be the huge issue people think it will be.”

Haines-Saah said that while second-hand smoke should be part of the conversation around regulating marijuana, she’s concerned about possible unintended consequences of banning cannabis in most public spaces.

“There are inequities around people not having a place to smoke, and those who will be out on the street potentially smoking, I think, will be vulnerable people,” she said, adding they would be at greater risk for being ticketed or penalized because they don’t have access to an acceptable place to consume.

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“Adults with means and privilege will consume in other ways that don’t involve smoke ... in their private residences, with their ample backyard space.”

Ultimately, she said, crafting effective policy around marijuana in public spaces, rather than implementing a blanket ban, is an important factor in addressing public health concerns.

“It’s very difficult to have something legalized but say, ‘We’re going to permit it nowhere so it doesn’t become normalized to kids.’”

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