Ontario beer fest to have a pot patio, and it’s completely legal to get high here

Anisha Dhiman - thegrowthop.com Posted 6 years ago
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As per the law, people in Ontario are not allowed to vape or smoke in restaurants and on bar patios and public areas within 9m of a patio in Ontario. But here’s how Toronto is getting around this restriction: by allowing people to smoke pot where tobacco smoking is permitted.

 

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The pot patio, or POTio, will be a brand new addition to this year’s Toronto Craft Beer Festival at CNE. The current smokers lounge will turn into a cannabis smoking lounge and will be strict alcohol- and tobacco-free zone.

The initiative is developed in partnership with HotBox Cafe and Detonate Cannabis Agency and is “within regulations,” says Abi Roach, founder of HotBoxCafe. “The patio doesn’t have a bar or a restaurant, so there won’t be any food or alcohol served… There also won’t be any sale of cannabis in the lounge either. It’s essentially a seating area where people can smoke cannabis,” she says. 

The sensory appeal of cannabis and music might go hand-in-hand. But weed and alcohol remain a big no. Drinking before smoking can lead to “greening out,” a situation where a person might feel sick, and “may go pale and sweaty, feel dizzy with ‘the spins,’ nauseous, and may even start vomiting. This is most commonly followed by the immediate desire to lie down,” Medical Daily reports.

For this reason, no alcohol is allowed on the POTio. If people are already wasted they won’t be allowed in. “People are allowed to have cannabis, it’s legal,” says Roach. “If you came to a beer fest with a joint in your pocket you are going to smoke that joint. We are going to give you a safe space to do that.” 

 

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