It’s Legal In Canada

Nice Father’s Day Gift, Bad Dad, Great Time

My son Tyler and I enjoy attending Buffalo Bills football, Buffalo Sabres hockey, and New York Yankees baseball games together, as a family with my wife and our daughter. We’ve gone to one or two a year at least, and each has been a special time. He also likes to give tickets as gifts. A few years ago his Father’s Day gift to me was a pair of Yankees vs Blue Jays tickets for a game in Toronto. There was an interesting additional surprise that came with the tickets.

Road Trip

The game was scheduled for July 7th, a Saturday. We planned to leave home at 8:00. That would put us in Toronto at about 11:00, with game time at 4:00. That gave us 5 hours to enjoy hanging around one of the world’s most beautiful and cleanest cities before the game.

The weather was perfect for a road trip and a baseball game. I prepared my Tom Cochrane music for the journey (Tom Cochrane is a Canadian artist known for the road trip hit “Life Is A Highway,” but he’s Canada’s equivalent to Bruce Springsteen, with many hits in the ’80s and ’90s). We left on time and headed for the border.

Tyler’s first year at college in Niagara Falls had gone well. He came to love the area and became accustomed to going back and forth to Canada on weekends, as the drinking age was lower. He’d met a few Canadian friends and knew a little more about things happening across the border than most of us in the States.

After we passed through Customs at the border, the other surprise addition to my gift was revealed. “You do know that as of July 1st, weed is legal in Canada, don’t you?” he asked. I did not. “Why do you think I got tickets to this game? We’re gonna get high.” Mom would not approve.

In the City

As scheduled, we arrived in Toronto and parked near Roger’s Centre, the Blue Jays’ home field. We emerged from the cool lower level garage to street level and warm sunshine. The first thing we spotted across the street was the “Cannabis Café.” We eagerly strolled in.

At the café, we received an excellent primer from the barista on Canadian weed legalization and parliamentary actions. They could not yet sell anything with THC, but the coffee was CDB infused. Tyler had an espresso; I had a mochaccino.

While I was in the men’s room, Tyler got some info from the barista on where we could (semi-?) legally obtain weed at a dispensary. Tyler already had information on a “vape lounge,” a place where it could lawfully be smoked.

The “365 Dispensary” would be a 4 or 5 block walk. Not bad. It was on a major street, but in a place where businesses were very close together, doors being just 6 feet or so apart. It seemed a little sketchy, but everything on that block was condensed and seemed very niched.

You ring a doorbell from the street. Someone looks through that door for a ' camera; a guy sitting behind the door lets you into a bit of hall about 3' wide by 6' long with only a locked door at the other end. You walk through that locked door to a shorter hall with another locked door. That one opens, and you walk into a room about 12 x 16 with no windows.

There’s a queue, and you walk up to a counter. The fragrant aroma took me back to my teens. Behind the counter are clerks ready to help you out (I went to their website and learned that the clerks are referred to as “budtenders”).

Before getting to the sales budtenders, there was a guy that said hi to us while he was separating what looked to be probably half a pound of marijuana. I thought about how if this had been 1970s New York, we’d face extended prison time for simply being there. Behind the counter were giant jars of multiple strains of weed, about two dozen of them. Menus were at the counter, and the clerks asked what you’d like.

, The guy at the counter asked if we were there for the game. Tyler’s in his Yankees Jeter jersey, also sporting his new Ray-Ban aviators. I’m in jeans and a blue Hawaiian-style shirt. He asked if we knew what we wanted (no) and then asked if we wanted something better for the afternoon, before the game, or nighttime after. We said before. We gave him $20, and he weighed out quite enough for us to get through the afternoon. Then out the door at the other end of the room, and you’re on the street again. Now on to the Hot Box Café, which was a half-hour walk from where we were. Tyler had been told about this place and wanted to go.

This was a half-hour walk through a very bustling Toronto, not the tourist area, but where people live and work. We passed grocery stores, boutiques, neighborhood restaurants and bars, insurance agencies, regular stuff. We even cut through an apartment complex in Chinatown. It was clean and felt perfectly safe. The weather couldn’t have been better unless the temps were 5–10 degrees lower. It was a beautiful Saturday.

Cough, Cough

The lounge is in an area in the middle of Chinatown, Baldwin Village, Harbor Village, and Trinity Bellwoods sections of Toronto. It’s about a mile and a half from the stadium. We got to the Hotbox, and about halfway through the building, you pay $5 per person to go into the vape lounge or, on a day like it was, walk outside.

Outside was an “L” shaped patio area with a 12-foot high block wall on one long side about 24ft long, 10ft tall stockade on two sides, a couple of 25–30' high trees, and picnic tables. Lots of graffiti decorates the tables and stockade walls. There’s seating for as many as about 20–24 people.

When we arrive, there is a couple walking in ahead of us; probably late 20’s early 30’s, a young black guy with headphones on by himself at a table studying, and a couple maybe in their 70’s. The aroma of herb is certainly present, but mild since we’re in the open air. Now and then, you hear some coughing.

Then a little more coughing.

So you light up and hang out. You can grab a board game in the store and bring it out, and you can stay as long as you like. We light up our stash from 365 after Tyler bought some papers inside. A few more pairs show up, (cough) an older Indian or Pakistani-looking guy and son (apparently) and a couple of guys in their 40’s that looked like they stepped out of their mini-vans and left the wives and kids home. (Cough) I hear three people pull up behind me too.

Another cough from this corner. Then a cough from that one. About a dozen people out here by now. Some of them get going beyond just one quick cough and hack a little. Soon it’s as contagious as dogs barking at night. I take a hit and let a little one out. Then someone else at another table does. This is funny shit. One guy is having a particularly rough time behind me. I hear someone say to him, “Nice rip, huh?” Now we can’t stop laughing. It’s like something from a sitcom.

I’ve had enough by now that I’m afraid to move for fear of looking like a foolish rookie and stumbling around. I look at my phone. It’s only 12:30. Time is standing still.

Tyler asks if I’m ready to leave. I quietly and calmly answer, “I don’t think I can. I’m afraid if I get up and try to walk, I’ll look foolish.”

We leave at about 1:15 or so. I’m not sure. It’s getting a little hot. Tyler likes to walk fast, so I’m trying to keep up. We head toward the stadium, and he stops at a Dairy Queen. He insists he wants to buy us both Blizzards, so we each get one.

Back to walking, and I’m trying to keep up, not stopping to eat the ice cream, though we certainly have enough time. He’s like a man on a mission, but I don’t know what that mission is, other than to wear his old man out. I’m stoned (he is even more), walking way too fast, trying to eat ice cream. It’s about 85 degrees Fahrenheit (30 Celsius in Canada), and the streets are packed with people.

Mmmpp…Mmmmpp

After our half-hour trek, we see the stadium ahead. We get to the stadium, and the doors aren’t yet open. Rather than wait in line, I have to sit down. I’m whipped, getting a little woozy. Tyler asks if we should go in as soon as the doors open. I say, “No. Wait.”

He turns to me and asks, “Are you okay? Dad?”. I shake my head no and tell him I’m feeling a little nauseous. After a few more minutes, we walk in. We go all the way up to the top level, and as soon as I see into the field, I’m nauseous again.

He asks if I’m okay. I shake my head yes, but don’t say anything. “Dad! Are you having a heart attack?”. I shake my head no but put my hand in front of my mouth to stop myself from puking. Now I point to a door that says “First Aid,” but it’s locked. I do not see a restroom.

An usher walks by, Tyler stops him. Now this guy asks if I’m having a heart attack. I’m just looking for a fucking place to puke! He shouts out for a medic. Another couple of ushers come over. Now I’m getting a little annoyed. “Sir, are you having a heart attack?”.

I walk over to a corner and let the barf go right on the floor.

“NO! I just need a place to throw up!”

Finally, I’m led to a restroom, or as they say in Canada, a washroom. No paper. I can’t get in a shitter stall to even get toilet paper. I try to clean up as best I can.

Now I feel better. We watch batting practice in the outfield stands. Well, it’s not quite over yet. I get the urge again. Here we go. Tyler’s sitting in front of me, so I tap him to get his attention. No place to go, not enough time. I throw up right there. Fortunately, nobody’s in their seats yet. We find an usher. “Do you need a paramedic?” Here we go again.

“No, but you need a clean-up.” Finally, I feel great. I feel bad for Tyler having worried him and him having to deal with me being sick (and old).

I’m still a little high, not the least bit sick. Then, thank GOD, I find a condiment stand in the concourse. Paper napkins! I grab a handful and find a restroom to clean up.

Now all is well. We head to our seats. The game starts at about 4:05. We’re right above the press box and have the same view as the media.

The first pitch to Brett Gardner is a home run. Next up is Aaron Judge, another homer. Severino is pitching. The game is excellent, and the Yankees win 8–4.

Times Have Changed

It wasn’t the first time, or the most recent, that I smoked pot with my son. Yeah, you might think it’s a little outrageous. Twenty years ago, I would have. I’d stopped smoking it by the time my kids came along, with only a few exceptions.

Times have changed. Studies that couldn’t have been conducted in the past have shown benefits to the CBD and THC found in marijuana. Most people realize by now that it’s less harmful than alcohol. Marijuana use is more socially acceptable and legal in many parts of the U.S. and Canada, including New York State. And it provided a heck of a memory of a Father’s Day gift.

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