By Armchair Mayor

A couple of modest requests on Weed Wednesday

Oct 17, 2018 | 6:44 AM

THIS IS THE BIG DAY. Weed Wednesday. Reefer madness begins. Off to the pot store for a little wacky tabacky. Bit of the ol’ jazz cabbage.

It’s all legal today, recreationally speaking. And Kamloops is the only city in all of B.C. with a government-operated cannabis store. As columnist Jack Knox labelled Kamloops — we’re the Amsterdam of Canada.

He’s kidding, of course. Alberta has 17 government pot stores, Quebec has 20, all open and in business today. Saskatchewan will have about 17 of its 51 stores open. Manitoba wants a pot store within a 30-minute drive or less of every Manitoban.

According to Kamloops City Hall, the reason we have the first and only one in the province is that the city is so well prepared. Kamloops is open for business, says the mayor, though it came down to the wire, with council approving the licence without debate on Tuesday.

It’s an exciting day for many — aging hippies who’ve been doing it clandestinely since the 60s, all the way up to the younger generation, as long as they’re at least 19 of course.

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I don’t expect I’ll be lighting up tonight — I’ll probably stick with my usual glass of wine during dinner. On this important day, though, I have a couple of modest requests.

First, to the media, can you now cease and desist from doing stories about the “budding industry” of cannabis? It was cute maybe once but now it’s really annoying. Same thing for “growing business” and “pot luck.” And “pot of gold, and “seeds of a new industry” and “splendor in the grass.”

I don’t recall hearing anyone say “Kamloops is going to pot” but I’m sure somebody has.

Secondly, to all who think this day is the greatest thing since the invention of the marijuana brownie, have fun today. Smoke up, whoop it up, act goofy, have your parties.

But spare a thought for the rest of us and please don’t feel the need to do it in our faces. Stick to the rules, be careful and be cool.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.