Pubdate: Sat, 22 Apr 2017
Source: Calgary Herald (CN AB)
Copyright: 2017 Postmedia Network
Contact:  http://www.calgaryherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/66
Author: Christina Spencer
Page: A15

GET READY FOR THE STONER NEXT DOOR

"Stoners are nice," said Samantha, a happy participant in Thursday's
4-20 celebrations on Parliament Hill. "Honestly, we're like a great
big family."

So went the blissful murmurings among cannabis users at the annual
homage. With 6,000 people toking on the lawn in front of Centre Block
- - the prime minister was not in town to bask in the glow of their
happiness - you'd think recreational marijuana use was already legal.

It isn't yet, and may not be even by July 1, 2018, the target date the
Trudeau government has set. Barely a week after four ministers and a
parliamentary secretary were trotted out to introduce the pertinent
legislation, it's becoming clear what a complicated business this is
going to be.

"It's massive," says Trina Fraser, a partner at Brazeau Seller Law who
specializes in the subject.

"It doesn't really matter what area of law you practise, you'd better
have some basic understanding of what's going on with cannabis law in
Canada."

Police have already voiced sensible concern about driving under the
influence, and medical experts are weighing in about weed's effects on
young brains. But Fraser, who has a broadly positive view of the
legalization bill so far, anticipates much wider questions from her
clients: restaurateurs will wonder whether they can serve food with
cannabis, for example, or even hold special cannabis nights. And what
about the implications in the workplace? Employers and HR types will
need a whole new level of training as rules around extracts and
edibles are slowly clarified.

Then there are residential landlords.

Here, things could really get convoluted. As Fraser noted in a recent
briefing note, Bill C-45, the Cannabis Act, will allow the personal
cultivation of up to four plants per residence with, so far, no limit
on the amount of dried cannabis that can be stored.

It may be one thing to indulge in a little modest bud-tending in your
own home or backyard, but if you own a rental property, or you are a
renter, this could quickly become knotty.

Unless amended, the legislation won't require a tenant to let the
landlord know he or she is running a mini-grow-op on the property. So
what? You don't have to tell your landlord how much booze you have in
your apartment either. But cannabis cultivation requires artificial
light, which means more than normal electricity needs. Marijuana
plants also like high humidity, so mould is a problem. Flowering
plants are pungent, so ventilation is an issue.

Meanwhile, experts are warning landlords about how both banks and
insurance companies may treat properties where cannabis is grown.

The insurance industry is "notoriously risk averse," Fraser observes.
And chartered banks have been reluctant to deal even with licensed,
legitimate medical cannabis manufacturers. To landlords, she writes:
"Don't be surprised if you are asked questions about home growing
activities at mortgage renewal time."

She's urging landlords to ensure leases with new clients spell out the
rules, including prohibiting growing weed if the landlord doesn't want
it there. She even suggests those with existing leases think about
incentives to get their renters to write in new rules, before the
legislation passes.

Perhaps this is much ado over little; most of us don't plan to do
indoor ganja gardening. But some folks will. There are more rental
houses on your nice suburban street than you might think, and if you
are a renter in a multi-unit building, you might prefer not to put up
with the sharp smell from the apartment next door.

John Dickie of the Canadian Federation of Apartment Associations,
wants the law to reflect a right of owners to know whether a renter is
growing pot.

Our society's strict respect of privacy boundaries should bend once
recreational marijuana is legal, he says. "At least have the tenant
tell the landlord."

Other renters might appreciate that information too. Stoners may be
nice, but their soon-to-be-legal habit could bring unexpected
hangovers for the rest of us.

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Christina Spencer is the Ottawa Citizen's editorial pages editor.
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MAP posted-by: Matt