Consuming recreational marijuana in Sylvan Lake in any way will be restricted to private property only, and while medical marijuana users are exempt from this law, they are asked to refer to their newly passed Smoke Free Bylaw for use in public.

The bylaw was passed at Monday's council meeting, and comes after hearing recommendations from the public during several open houses held throughout the spring and summer.

Communications Coordinator for the Town of Sylvan Lake Joanne Gaudet says while a lot of municipalities, such as Lacombe and Sylvan Lake, have voted to outright ban the use of recreation pot in public, it varies from place to place.

“Each municipalities is going to have very different consumption rules as well as business licensing rules, obviously, but the consumption rules will change so never assume that what you can and cannot do in one community is just as restricted or free to do in another community.”

Gaudet explains restricting marijuana use to private property doesn't mean you can simply find a non-public space and light up.

“Tenants of a rental property would have to correspond with their landlords about what is permitted on that property; that would be up to the landlord to determine. It certainly doesn’t mean you can jump off the sidewalk on to someone’s private property and puff away. Unless invited, that wouldn’t be permitted either.”

If you have any question regarding the impending cannabis legalization in Canada, you can check out Canada.ca/cannabis. If you are wondering about the rules for Alberta, you can visit alberta.ca/cannabis.