Lacombe County is busy gathering information about what their residents think and feel about the upcoming legalization of marijuana.

On Tuesday night a public meeting was held at the Bentley community hall, where at least 20 people listened to presentations by Alberta Health Services, county administration, and local peace officers.

Manager of Environmental & Protective Services for Lacombe County Keith Boras says from what he's heard, people have moved away from worrying about people smoking weed in their house, and they are more worried about what happens once they leave their homes.

“The biggest concern from the people I’ve talked to, and what I’ve heard is how it’s going to impact impaired operation of vehicles, I think that’s a challenge for our peace officer. We (the county) don’t have jurisdiction, but it’s one of those areas that may touch our operations, I think it touches everybody in the province, in the county actually, so I think how we deal with all of that is going to be key.”

Noah Boakye-Yiadom is a Health Promotions Facilitator at AHS, and spoke last night in Bentley.

He says some people compare it to alcohol and don't see it as dangerous, but he says the dangers may be different, but they are still present.

“If you are just comparing, like marijuana is not as bad because you are not going to overdose on it, then yea, marijuana is not as bad as alcohol. But if you are thinking about how it cognitively affects you, how it affects you psychologically, then yea it’s just as bad as alcohol. We need to be aware of how it will impact us.”

If you missed the meeting last night, you have another chance Wednesday night at the Mirror hall from 6 pm until 9 pm.

You can also complete their Cannabis in your Community survey online by clicking here to go to the county’s website.