Manitoba wants to set limit on marijuana consumption in public places

WINNIPEG – The Manitoba government is moving to set restrictions on marijuana similar to those on alcohol.

Proposed legislation would list marijuana as an intoxicant and ban people from consuming it in a vehicle.

Police would also have the right to suspend a driver’s licence for 24 hours — similar to an alcohol provision — if they thought a person was under the influence of pot.

And, like tobacco, marijuana could not be smoked in enclosed public places.

Justice Minister Heather Stefanson says the province is laying the groundwork for when the federal government legalizes cannabis.

The Manitoba bill says public schools would be required to ban marijuana under their codes of conduct, even after it becomes legal.

Details surrounding marijuana legalization — such as where it might be sold — have yet to be worked out.