Calgary police need more awareness of a city bylaw exempting medical cannabis from an outdoor smoking ban, says a man busted for consuming what he insists was a legal joint.

Philip Karlinsky was smoking a joint while walking along a paved pathway to the Shawnessy CTrain Station last Thursday afternoon when two bicycle-mounted police officers stopped him.

He was issued a $100 ticket for smoking in a prohibited area despite Karlinsky’s protests that he said included showing the pair his medical cannabis prescription and the city’s bylaw allowing him to consume in most outdoor places.

“I was explaining the law to them, but how are they not aware?” said Karlinsky, 31, who says he smokes pot to manage his depression and anxiety symptoms.

“It’s kind of ridiculous.”

The city’s rules on medical cannabis state it can be smoked or vaped outdoors in public unless it’s on or within five metres of amenities such as playgrounds, outdoor pools, transit property, sports fields or indoor public spaces.

Karlinsky recorded some of the encounter on his cellphone, which appears to show he wasn’t in a prohibited space.

“They are still writing me a ticket, very professional,” he says on the video of the two female officers.

When a police sergeant arrived as he’d requested, the officer asks if his medical permit carries an exemption to where he can smoke cannabis, with Karlinsky telling him it’s spelled out in the bylaw.

“Which bylaw do you have?” the police sergeant then asks him.

A moment later, Karlinsky says he’s “another officer that doesn’t seem to know the law.”

Says the sergeant: “So that’s three of us, so just take it to court, you have that opportunity.”

Before they left, one of the bike-riding constables issued Karlinsky a $155 ticket for not updating the changed home address on his driver’s licence within the required two-week period.

“You guys are just bullies,” he said to the two constables, who remained calm and even smiling.

Police say their officers’ cameras, which recorded the entire episode, shows Karlinsky seemed intoxicated, was belligerent from the start and that he only produced online medical cannabis proof on his cellphone, which isn’t sufficient.

But Karlinsky said officers never told him that was inadequate, adding he’s never possessed a patient card.

Despite its legal status, even recreationally, Karlinsky said authorities continue to stigmatize cannabis as if it’s prohibited.

He doubts either ticket will stand up in court, since the $155 penalty resulted from what he believes is a wrongfully issued smoking ticket.

He said he’ll challenge both on the given court date of July 30, but added he wouldn’t have to if the police officers knew the law.

“This wasn’t the first time I’ve had to point out the bylaws to Calgary police officers regarding medical cannabis,” said Karlinsky.

Even so, other officers he’s encountered were aware of the bylaw and didn’t ticket him while he consumed it publicly, he said.

One set of CPS statistics shows the number of criminal cannabis incidents Calgary police have recently dealt with has fallen more than 90 per cent below the five-year average, while those involving crystal meth have soared.

Staff Sgt. Kyle Grant of the CPS’s Strategic Enforcement Unit said he couldn’t comment on the specific incident.

But he said it’s fair to say both police and the public are still becoming acquainted with laws around cannabis since its full legalization.

“This is new for everybody and we don’t have a lot of case law . . . more experience needs to be gained by the service as a whole and the public,” he said.

“People do need to be mindful where they’re consuming (cannabis), I want to make sure everybody’s safe.”

While numbers of tickets handed out for public cannabis consumption weren’t available from police, Calgary Transit has handed out 15 while bylaw officers have issued one since last October, said a city spokeswoman.

BKaufmann@postmedia.com

Twitter: @BillKaufmannjrn