Pubdate: Sat, 30 Jul 2016
Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)
Column: Ethically Speaking
Page: E12
Copyright: 2016 The Toronto Star
Contact:  http://www.thestar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456
Author: Ken Gallinger

HOW TO DEAL WITH YOUR POT-SMOKING NEIGHBOUR

Q: I'm a nurse in Toronto and live in a rental townhouse complex. A 
few people have moved in recently who smoke pot; it is unbearable. My 
neighbour doesn't smoke in his own house, so he stands outside near 
my door. I spent $2,000 to build a wall between us only to be told by 
management that I must remove it. My job depends on clarity and being 
drug free; I shouldn't be constantly subjected to this still-illegal 
drug. Law-abiding citizens feel their rights have been taken away and 
pot-smokers' rights supersede ours. We are living in a very sad time!

A: In the summer of 1967, two years before Woodstock, four years 
before Justin Trudeau's yuletide nativity, I preached my first sermon 
advocating the decriminalization of marijuana. I was a student 
clergyman and, to illustrate my Sunday sermon, I purchased a joint 
from a "friend" and passed it around to the spellbound congregation - 
just to demonstrate that no one went to hell just for touching the 
demon weed. To be clear: I wasn't (and am not) necessarily advocating 
the smoking of pot; I'm simply opposed to turning smokers into criminals.

So, half a century later, it's finally happening. Sometime soon, 
young Justin will shepherd legislation through Parliament not just 
decriminalizing, but outright legalizing pot in Canada. Most 
Canadians now agree that's cool, man.

There are, of course, hurdles to be legislatively leapt before this 
happens. Who will sell the weed, and how will those sales be managed? 
What's a realistic age limit for pot consumption? How do we keep our 
roads safe from high drivers? Will pot consumption be permitted in 
public? Bars? Restaurants (a brownie with my cappuccino, s.v.p)? And so on.

But one thing that cannot be legislated is courtesy.

No, dear correspondent, the rights of pot smokers do not supersede 
your rights. But whether you smoke up or not, you can't erect an 
external wall in a condo complex, and I'm surprised you didn't at 
least check that out before you went all Trumpy. At least you didn't 
try to get the Mexicans to pay for it.

That said, you shouldn't have to endure purple haze drifting across 
your front lawn, any more than you should put up with a neighbour's 
tobacco smoke, McDonald's wrappers or beer bottles.

Pot smokers need to understand that we are entering a sensitive new 
phase in Canadian social life. No, a person won't likely get high 
from second-hand smoke, but that doesn't make it healthy (it's not) 
or pleasant for those who don't share your enthusiasm for your drug of choice.

And there are people - many, many good people - who remain genuinely 
afraid of pot and those who consume it. It doesn't matter whether 
that fear is justified; it's real and needs to be respected.

So, to the immeasurable band of potheads who buy the Saturday paper 
and read my column, a word to the wise: Don't be a jerk. Don't flaunt 
the freedoms you are about to be afforded in the Justinian era. Keep 
your smoke to yourself. Respect the space of others. Don't let kids 
anywhere near the brownies. And keep the grass growing green - on 
your own side of the fence.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom