Canadian Universities Prepare for Cannabis Legalization

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]U[/dropcap]niversities are preparing for Canada’s legalization of cannabis sales with plans that accommodate and limit student cannabis consumption on campus.

“We were all sort of flying blind a little bit,” Laurelle LeVert, associate vice-president at the University of New Brunswick’s Saint John campus, told The Star. “I think all universities have been.” LeVert said that a working group of administration and students was created to develop guidelines for cannabis use on St. John’s campus. He credited students for the informed policy deliberations that led to a university-wide statement.

“The legislation hasn’t been passed yet, so there’s lots of questions about what’s going to happen after Oct. 17, and that’s why we haven’t been going with a policy,” LeVert said.

“I think there’s learning for us as well in this. I think we’ll lean heavily on staff and faculty to recognize the misuse of cannabis,” said Scott Duguay, associate vice-president of enrolment management at St. Thomas University. “For example, in classrooms, you’re not allowed to sit there and have a beer while participating in class and we wouldn’t expect people to have edibles or smoke cannabis in class either.”

Dougay said that St. Thomas was educating students during their first week on campus about their expectations of cannabis. “Welcome Week is already looking a little different,” he said. “We usually do presentations on alcohol harms, for example. We now have slides in that presentation on the whole cannabis idea.”

The University of New Brunswick sent a letter to students and staff saying that growing will be prohibited on campus. They said that on campus, non-smoked products may be consumed by those 19 and older and any impairment or intoxication “in the workplace of the academic setting will be addressed through our internal policies and procedures.” New Brunswick passed the Cannabis Control Act, which prohibits smoking cannabis in public places. Therefore, students cannot smoke on school property.

Edibles and infused beverages are not part of the Canada’s legalization bill. However, St. Thomas has not banned it from campus, preparing for students having access to it in the future.

“This is a substance that we can’t pretend was completely unavailable in the past, so how people will react to it, if they decide to try it, if they haven’t tried it before is one thing,” Duguay said.

“But we also have plenty of rules and regulations in place that will limit exposure.”