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Contra Costa holds off on apartment smoking ban 

MARTINEZ -- Medical marijuana has put a temporary lid on Contra Costa County's plans to ban smoking inside new apartments and condos, a major expansion of its already strict smoking laws.

The board on Tuesday postponed for two weeks a vote on the more restrictive secondhand smoking ordinance pending a decision about whether it should exempt the smoking of medically prescribed marijuana.

"Smoke is smoke," said board Chairman John Gioia, of Richmond. "But we need to know where this issue stands with respect to state law."

If adopted, smoking would be banned inside all apartment or condominium complexes of four units or more built after Jan. 1.

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