Hidden behind a thicket of porta-potties directly east of the main stage, Ottawa Bluesfest’s first cannabis-consumption zone drew only a few tobacco smokers over the course of several hours on opening night last Thursday.

But by next summer, after cannabis is legalized in three months, the area for medical-marijuana patients and cigarette smokers will be opened up to anyone who wants to use the drug. Organizer Mark Monahan says the so-called “pot garden” is the first of its kind at any music festival in the country.

It won’t be the last as event organizers search for ways to balance the public’s desire to use the drug with the enjoyment of those who don’t want to partake.

– Read the entire article at The Globe and Mail.