The city of Mora is currently drafting an ordinance to provide more direction to its outdated policies concerning the public use of tobacco to include cannabis and vaping.
The city’s goal is to focus on public spaces, particularly where youth would be exposed to cannabis use.
The League of Minnesota Cities recommends that any city ordinance should clearly define what locations are considered not generally accessible by the public, since the law hasn’t clearly defined these types of locations either.
With the recent legalization of adult-use cannabis this past August, the Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act was amended to include vaping and smoking cannabis products under the definition of smoking. While smoking is prohibited in virtually all indoor public places and indoor places of employment under the MCIAA, the act does not prohibit smoking outdoors, regardless of distance from building openings.
While the law doesn’t necessarily authorize the public outdoor use of cannabis products, there are currently no penalties for the use in public spaces not deemed by the MCIAA, particularly outdoor public areas including parks and sidewalks.
