Legalization of marijuana raises concerns

Photo from QNet News.

By Rachel Bell 

BELLEVILLE – Concerns are being expressed over the soon to come legalization of marijuana, including some from Belleville police.

By July 2018, it will be legal to buy and smoke marijuana in Ontario.

User’s won’t be permitted to smoke in public places, workplaces, or in motor vehicles, however the Belleville police are still concerned.

Staff sergeant Rene Aubertin says impaired driving is the biggest concern of the Belleville police once marijuana becomes legal. He says they are currently waiting for direction from the government, as detecting if a driver is high will not be as simple as blowing into a breathalyzer. They now have trained recreational drug officers, however, Aubertin says they are hoping the government will come out with some type of equipment to help assist them.

Brodie Hawkins, a student at Loyalist says she will feel unsafe, knowing there could be more drivers on the road under the influence.

“There could be a lot of people driving high. Maybe more than people that are driving drunk.”

Kaylea Moreau, a recent Loyalist graduate also has her concerns.

“I fear I will not be able to leave my house when it’s legalized as I am very allergic to it. Once legalized people wont being just doing it in their homes and sometimes on the street. They won’t have the fear of being jailed and will use it more and more on the streets. And folks that aren’t currently using it due to its illegal status may start as it’s no longer deemed illegal.”

In Ontario, marijuana will be sold in a starting number of 40 stores. That will rise to 80 in just a year. By year 2020, there’s expected to be around 150 standalone stores.

Buyers will be permitted to possess a maximum of 30 grams, but there is currently no limit on how much they can keep at home. The condition is that the marijuana just has to be kept in a locked container or room in the user’s residence.

Although Ontario has introduced a legislation to keep user’s and non-user’s safe, many Loyalist students still have concerns.

“Technically anything can be addictive, behaviourally. If the person has an addictive personality they are more prone to forming addictive habits simply because the act of whatever it is makes them feel better,” Jessi Odaisky, another Loyalist student said.

She said anything can be addictive if you take pleasure from it, including the internet, food, and other things we may not consider to be harmful.