A coalition of groups concerned about the health risks associated with marijuana is calling legalization a "dark day for Canada."
Members of Smart Approaches to Marijuana Canada, Air We Share and Airspace Action on Smoking and Health tried to share the message from the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery today, as pro-pot hecklers shouted over them.
Coalition spokeswoman Pamela McColl says she believes legalization normalizes a dangerous substance and positions Canada to be the base of the marijuana industry's global expansion.
She says she wants to see regulation tightened to ban smoking marijuana from any multi-unit residence and anywhere that children live.
Sitting across the square, Topher Graham and Tristan Risk say they took the day off work to celebrate legalization.
Graham says it means he won't have to buy pot from his friends anymore, while Risk says it means she can smoke week legally, safely and publicly without feeling like a "sneaky teenager."
