Denver’s Latest Cannabis Rules Allows for Yard Smoking

In a draft far more reasonable than previous versions, Denver City Council has released new proposed cannabis rules for users in Denver.

Thanks to libertarians, the latest proposed cannabis rules do not restrict the use of marijuana on private property. Previous versions would have made smoking in your living room illegal if you could be seen, and made the smell of weed count as public consumption, punishable by a stiff fine and even jail time. In the new version, you can smoke on your front porch, on an ugly flannel blanket in your front yard, on your tire swing, hammock, etc. You just wont be able to smoke (or give away, or even look at) weed in parks or around the 16th Street Mall.

There will be a public hearing on the issue November 25, after which the Council will further discuss the issue. The Council will make their final vote December 2, 2013.

Opponents of this version of the rules worry that people will be toking up in front of kids walking to and from school. As a father, I’m personally more concerned about my son being exposed (visually or otherwise) to cigarettes than cannabis. I can understand why many people feel the opposite, though. After all, we all grew up with cigarette smokers around, at least in public, if not in our own household. Many otherwise intelligent people still equate the two substances, but consider cannabis to be worse because it gets you high.

The facts are, marijuana is less addictive than caffeine, whereas cigarettes are the most physically addictive substance on the planet. Marijuana hasn’t been linked to lung cancer (and has shown lots of anti-cancer properties) or any other life-threatening illnesses, whereas the CDC states “cigarette smoking causes about one of every five deaths in the United States each year.”