Duluth poised to ban pot smoking inside city parks, impose $300 fine

DULUTH — Marijuana smoking will be banned inside Duluth's nearly 130 parks, if the Duluth City Council approves an amended city law next month.

With Minnesota's legalization of recreational marijuana beginning Aug. 1, the council first approved new language Monday night that treats the smoking of all substances the same in Duluth parks. Cigarette and vape smoking is already banned in several public spaces, including the Lakewalk, but the new law would extend that to all parks.

The proposed change that goes before the council Aug. 14 is not a complete ban, however, allowing promoters and others to apply for smoking permits for events held in parks, much the same way they can apply for permits to serve alcohol.

Councilor Mike Mayou said the prohibition of marijuana in public parks is happening in other states that have legalized recreational use, including Colorado.

"This is something that I think is to protect folks that are recreating or kids in those parks," he said, pointing out that smoking would still be allowed on sidewalks and streets.

Several people at the meeting spoke against the park pot ban, saying legalization was a victory for people of color, and this would harm that population and low-income residents who might not own homes or property where they can legally smoke marijuana. The law says it can be smoked on private property and on the premises of businesses or at events licensed for on-site consumption.

"This ordinance will result in more selective policing of poor and brown people in our city," populations that already suffer from over-policing, Duluth resident Carl Sack said.

Others, including Councilor Azrin Awal, said the $300 fine is too high.

Calling it a "class issue," Awal said the fine leaves already struggling residents vulnerable.

"We want to protect our air, our children, our hearts, but we also need to remember who we are leaving at the margins," she said.

Other Minnesota cities considering such bans include Alexandria, Detroit Lakes and Lakeville. St. Cloud passed one at the end of June — the ordinance prohibits the use of marijuana, tobacco and vapes in all city parks and city-owned recreation sites.

Because the state law is silent on whether cannabis can be consumed outside of locations it explicitly states, cities are looking to "fill that gap," said Alex Hassel, a lobbyist for the League of Minnesota Cities.

Councilor Arik Forsman led the work on Duluth's proposed ordinance change. Before the meeting he said the new law wasn't clear that local control would play a big part.

"So now we're all staring down the barrel of this August 1 day ... and trying to figure out how to have a balance between community conversation that has to happen on policies like these, and not just leaving it as a total free-for-all," Forsman said.

Staff writer Jenny Berg contributed to this story.