Marijuana Smoking Fine Proposed

A measure that would impose a fine on anyone who gets caught smoking marijuana in public in Newburyport is going before the City Council tonight. Councilor Brian Derrivan, chairman of the council's Public Safety Committee, is expected to introduce a new ordinance imposing a $300 local fine on anyone smoking, ingesting or otherwise using or consuming marijuana while in a public place. According to a letter from Andrea Egmont, the city's director of youth and recreational services, more than 60 communities throughout Massachusetts have already adopted similar ordinances. Egmont said that since Massachusetts lessened the use laws in 2009, decriminalizing the possession of less than 1 ounce of marijuana, "the (new) policy has changed the perception of risk by both teens and adults."

Student Presses for Ban on Smoking at Bus Stops

A complaint from a University of Waterloo student about secondhand smoke seeping into buses has Grand River Transit implementing new smoking rules. But Ahmad Zeitoun, a third-year biomedical science student, doesn’t believe the new restrictions go far enough. “I am not that pleased,” said the 20-year-old Kitchener man, a daily transit user who said a smoker is often standing nearby as he waits for his bus. As an asthmatic, Zeitoun said he’s concerned about the health hazards of breathing in second-hand smoke, not just for himself, but for other passengers. Last April, he took his concerns to regional council, asking that smoking marijuana be banned at bus stops. Instead, Grand River Transit is implementing these new rules starting early next year: