With cannabis set to become legal on Oct. 17, post-secondary institutions are focusing on strategies and policies to keep pot use under control and safe for students.
Mount Allison University students say despite the federal legislation, there might not be a whole lot of differences in the future.
“It’s already on the campus landscape. It’s been there for a while,” says Ben Mannette. “I don’t think too much is going to change other than it’s more about the right to not hide it.”
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Students at the university in Sackville will be allowed to possess up to 30 grams of cannabis. They won’t be allowed to smoke pot on campus, as it’s public property.
Those who do possess marijuana will have to store it in air-tight containers, with labeling indicating what’s inside.
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The university says educational programming, such as posters, social media memos and emails are some of the ways it’ll be spreading awareness.
A “mental health harm reduction educator” has been hired by Mount Allison to assist with the rollout. A town hall will also be held prior to legalization.
“It’s a lot of confusion right now around what’s going to be allowed, but also a lot of excitement,” says Elise Vaillancourt, who vice-president of student life on the Mount Allison Students’ Union. “This is going to be a huge thing, especially for 18 to 25-year-olds.”
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Despite the confusion, students don’t anticipate they’ll feel a major impact once it’s made legal.
“I think it’s probably all the same sort of concerns that already exist with alcohol,” says Seth Winward. “I think in terms of the legality of it, that’s probably going to have to be tweaked and changed by the university to figure out exactly what their policies are.”
But for the university, an important issue on their radar pertains to marijuana use with other substances.
“There’s a real concern that a student for example might go out and consume alcohol and cannabis,” says Anne Comfort, who is the director of accessibility and student wellness. “We know that combination together can be quite harmful.”
Working groups, which have also been established at Université de Moncton and University of New Brunswick, have been working on their policies.
Meanwhile, Peter Halpin, the executive director of the Association of Atlantic Universities, says substance concerns are always on the radar of its schools, with harm reduction being important for alcohol, cannabis and even opioids.
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