MONTREAL — Doctor Melissa Genereux, head of public health in Quebec’s Eastern Townships region, thought she had persuaded local officials not to introduce a strict cannabis bylaw in the area’s largest city, Sherbrooke.
She sat on the city council’s cannabis committee — which included the mayor and chief of police — where she said they discussed approaches to legalization rooted in science, including allowing adults to smoke pot in designated public areas.
But last month, Sherbrooke council ignored the committee’s recommendations and unanimously voted to ban all public consumption of cannabis — joining a wave of Quebec cities that have adopted a hard line on marijuana.
