I don’t enjoy marijuana, or pot, ganja, grass, dope, or whatever your pet name is for it.
Like most teenagers I tried it with my friends. I decided it wasn’t for me after a few unfortunate experiences that included vomiting and incoherent rambling.
Full discloser, I enjoy alcohol and I have nothing against anyone who enjoys cannabis, it just never appealed to me.
I remember attending a parent advisory council meeting 25 years ago where an RCMP officer said he would lay his body down on the road before he would allow marijuana to become legal. How times have changed.
If you’re over 19 simply drop into any cannabis store and buy a designer joint or edibles in the shape of teddy bears. Not much different from a trip to the liquor store.
The old toy store in Tsawwassen Town Centre Mall will soon become South Delta’s first of two non-medicinal cannabis stores. The second store will only be a few blocks away.
Ladner Shopping Centre is also getting a pot store. Only stipulation by city council was to keep it away from the Dairy Queen. Blizzards and pot don’t go together.
The City of Delta could have as many as nine stores if council approves all the applications. That seems excessive. I would be surprised if demand is that high, but what do I know.
Since I’m not a consumer of cannabis their appearance on our retail landscape won’t affect me. It does however effect parents concerned about their teens proximity to cannabis stores.
As in real estate, location matters, so council is keen to keep the shops away from schools and playgrounds.
The shops must be approved by the province’s liquor and cannabis regulation branch, and they must adhere to strict rules and enforcement, otherwise they lose their license.
Likely the stores will open without much fanfare, but it does mean marijuana products will become more easily available in our community
That’s welcome news for those who need it for medicinal reasons. A 90-year-old relative of mine uses marijuana topically for back pain and swears by it.
The successful legalization of cannabis may open the doors to the legalization of harder drugs as we struggle to deal with the overdose crisis that has no end in sight.
Regulated, safe access to drugs seems to be the only way forward, because just saying no doesn’t work.
Ingrid Abbott is a freelance writer who remembers Cheech and Chong as her first introduction to a stoner, and it was funny.
