Some Calgarians’ concerns about people sparking up their legal weed in public spaces may be going up in smoke.
LiveWire asked the city about how many 311 complaints it had received regarding people consuming cannabis in public since Oct. 17.
As of Tuesday, the city’s 311 department had received only five complaints. A spokesperson for the city said in an email that the complaints had been made in the downtown, Crescent Heights, Eau Claire, Parkland and Forest Lawn.
A spokesperson for the Calgary Police Service said they wouldn’t be releasing any numbers until the end of November.
The city says complaints about public cannabis consumption are best directed to 311, rather than the Calgary Police Service.
Calgary City Council created a mechanism for citizens to request outdoor areas that would be sanctioned as legal pot consumption zones.
Gian-Carlo Carra in Ward 9 was the only councillor to start the process in his ward. He gave up after community backlash from people who didn’t want the zones near their homes.
In general, Calgary’s city bylaws prohibit anyone from smoking up in any public space. That leaves people smoking their legal pot indoors, or possibly in backyards if they have them.
Many renters, condo dwellers, or anyone who lives in a multi-unit buildings do not have a place they can legally consume their legal marijuana.
