Smoking Of Cannabis Can Be Permitted Where Tobacco Is Not; Municipalities Can Adopt Favorable Regulations

From the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA) presentation from Beacon’s retained law firm Keane and Beane, which prompted the report that Beacon was considering banning cannabis, tobacco and vapor in public parks, a note about allowing the smoking of cannabis in locations where smoking tobacco is prohibited was noted in print, but lingered upon as an option for the City Council. The City Administrator Chris White brought the reverse to the Council, for them to consider prohibiting tobacco, vapor and cannabis in Beacon’s public parks. Banning tobacco can be done, however, minus the ban on cannabis.

Since the MRTA legislation is written so favorably towards selling it, growing it and using it, to regulate open air public spaces seems counter-intuitive to the intent. Restricting that amount of land could have the effect of corralling people into tighter locations. It also has the possibility of new laws against smoking cannabis in the open, without fear of charges or judgement, which is again part of why the law was written.

Additionally, while smoking tobacco is banned from trails, City Administrator Chris implied his favor with discretionary application of the regulation, stating that he simply wanted to give people more teeth when asking people next to them to stop smoking at soccer games. He implied that if people were smoking “way up in the woods, we are not going to see,” regarding an action that is now legal, where people can smoke marijuana and be seen.

From Keane and Bean'e’s presentation, here are the guidelines on smoking cannabis effective immediately:

• Adults 21 and older can generally smoke cannabis anywhere it is currently legal to use tobacco.

• Smoking cannabis is prohibited in schools, workplaces, and in cars.

• Municipalities can also adopt regulations to allow the smoking of cannabis in locations where smoking tobacco is prohibited.