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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, O ct ob er 18 ,2 01 8 | 8 ABOUT US This newspaper, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 80 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns to the attention of the news- paper and, if not satisfied, write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2. Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca editorial@waterloochronicle.ca facebook.com/waterloochronicle @wlchronicle WHO WE ARE VP, Regional Publisher Kelly Montague Regional General Manager Nelson Parreira nparreira@metroland.com Regional Advertising Director Bill Ford bford@metroland.com Sales Lead/Advertising Representative Michelle Stevens ext. 795062 Advertising Representatives Cassandra Dellow ext. 795066 Zach Peters ext. 795068 Jan Bodanka ext. 795072 Delia Medina ext. 795065 Regional Editor Mike Wilson Reporters Adam Jackson Bill Jackson Namish Modi CONTACT US Waterloo Chronicle 630 Riverbend Dr. Kitchener, ON N2B 2G1 Phone: 519-886-2830 Fax: 519-579-2029 Web: www.waterloochronicle.ca Letters to the editor All letters must be fewer than 200 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Delivery For all delivery inquiries, e-mail customerservice@metroland.com or call 519-894-3000 OPINION TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT WATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA EDITORIAL It's here, in all of its glory - marijuana has now been legalized in Canada. Here in Ontario, it's a bit of a lacklustre celebra- tion. It's legal, but we can legally order it only online. Privately run stores will come, further into the new year. But nonetheless, for those who have lived the life- style for the past number of decades, it's time to be loud and proud with your cloud. At the Indoor Gardener in Waterloo, the public and legal acceptance of not only smoking, but growing marijuana is huge. The store hosted a party to cele- brate the arrival of legal cannabis, along with a sale on some hydroponics products. While some agree with the legalization of marijua- na, others don't. The fact of the matter is those who have lived that lifestyle were going to continue any- way. When it comes to smoking in public, we're going to have to be careful about how we go forward. Current- ly, the provincial government says that people will be allowed to smoke marijuana wherever tobacco is smoked. That's OK for the most part, considering the sys- tematically repealed rights of tobacco smokers over the past number of years. Because weed will be smoked only where tobacco is smoked, that means it cannot be smoked on any school or hospital proper- ties, and it will need to be smoked away from sports fields where children are playing. But when it comes to the grey areas - as there will be - you can't legislate stupid. Common sense will have to prevail when it comes to smoking marijuana in public. If someone around you is offended by the smell of your sticky icky, it's your responsibility to be respectable and move if it is deemed to be an issue. Just as socially conscious smokers have done for the past number of years. As unfortunate as it is, a lot of the details of mari- juana legalization, including issues about tenants of rentals growing the crop, will need to be figured out on the fly. There is legislation from the provincial govern- ment, but these small details - details that can have a major impact on people's quality of life - will need to be figured out sooner or later. The bottom line for all of us will be to have general respect. Let's hope we can keep that in mind as we spark up. POT SMOKERS, GROWERS ARE FINALLY OUT OF THE DARK The Pothead Apocalypse is upon us. But fear not. A bottle of eye drops and a good supply of snacks should offer sufficient pro- tection. All kidding aside, even with cannabis now legal in Canada, any fears of people roaming our streets in some sort of pot-induced haze are entirely unfound- ed. Productivity is not about to suddenly drop and stocks in potato chips are not about to suddenly rise. In short, it's time to toss out the old stereotypes and bravely enter this new world where cannabis is a drug legally allowed for rec- reational consumption. Some will tell you any concerns around legal can- nabis are exaggerated be- cause we have a far more dangerous drug already le- gally available, and its name is alcohol. A police officer once told me he'd much prefer to en- ter a strange apartment packed with pot smokers than a basement full of boozers. Still, we dress up our al- cohol in fancy packages and we celebrate its consump- tion, all while taking care not to overindulge before getting behind the wheel. While conventional wis- dom suggests waiting a pe- riod of four hours after smoking a joint before driv- ing a car - with up to eight hours recommended after consuming a cannabis-in- fused edible - research is still limited into the effects of cannabis on our individ- ual systems. We're still not certain how much is too much, how soon before driving we should smoke, and how we're going to measure all of this at the side of the road. That's why smoking and driving and overall road safety have been a focus for police as legalization ap- proached. But what about the offi- cers themselves? Police services across Canada have taken drasti- cally different approaches to cannabis use among their personnel, with ser- vices in Ottawa and Van- couver creating policies that allow for recreational cannabis use on an officer's own time, as long the officer reports to work fit for duty. In Calgary, meanwhile, the vast majority of officers are banned from consum- ing cannabis even in their downtime, while the Toron- to Police Service and RCMP have adopted a no-cannabis policy within 28 days of the officer's next shift. Kitchener Post colum- nist Mike Farwell is a broadcaster, emcee and advocate. Follow him on Twitter@farwell_WR. Email: Mike.Far- well@rci.rogers.com. POT PATROL PROVING TO BE STICKY BUSINESS RESEARCH ON WEED'S IMPACT UNCLEAR, WRITES MIKE FARRWELL MIKE FARWELL Column