The Parks, Recreation and Cemetery Commission will discuss amending the city’s coming ordinance to include marijuana at a special meeting Wednesday.

At a recent Benicia City Council meeting, the council discussed minor updates to the city’s smoking ordinance during discussion on the passage of Proposition 64, which legalized marijuana for personal use in California, and asked for public input, City Attorney Heather McLaughlin wrote in a report.

“The City’s smoking ordinance needs to be amended to at least update the definition of smoking to include marijuana,” McLaughlin wrote.

McLaughlin noted that the ordinance suggests minor changes to the city’s smoking ordinance in response to the new marijuana laws.

“The current smoking ordinance includes the phrase ‘the smoke, fumes, or vapors from plant product, like tobacco,’” McLaughlin wrote. “Because adult use of marijuana is now legal in California, the ordinance should be amended to include marijuana. Because of the change in technology the word ‘heated’ and the phrase ‘natural or synthetic’ should also be added.”

Additionally, McLaughlin noted that the state’s Health and Safety Code Section 11362.3 prohibits smoking marijuana in most public places, including youth centers and schools when children are present. Benicia’s smoking prohibition, however, is not as specific.

“Smoking in playgrounds is prohibited by state law but smoking in parks is left to cities to regulate,” McLaughlin wrote.

McLaughlin recommended the commission provide input to the council on the ordinance and possibly bringing forth additional changes to bring the city’s smoking ordinance up to at least a passing grade from the American Lung Association. In the organization’s latest report, Benicia was one of several communities in Solano County to receive an F grade from tobacco control policies. The full report can be viewed at http://www.lapublichealth.org/tob/pdf/2016-sotc__california-full.pdf.

The commission will meet at 6 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 8 in Room 2 of the Benicia Community Center, located at 370 East L St.

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