Post-secondary campuses across the country are developing various approaches to the question of how to deal with legalized marijuana.
The University of Regina, for example, has banned smoking completely on campus, while the University of Victoria is expected to create a cannabis-friendly smoking areas for adult students.
This semester, Okanagan College began offering courses on how to grow pot, but students shouldn’t expect to be able to use it on campus.
The college has decided to treat legalized marijuana the way it treats alcohol: It won’t be allowed on campus.
“We have to figure out how that fits into the framework of us being a public place, being an educational institution, then writing up appropriate guidelines,” said Philip Ashman, regional dean of Okanagan College.
UBCO is less certain how cannabis will be regulated on campus.
In a statement, UBC counsel Hubert Lai said “the university is working on developing a policy in response to the upcoming marijuana legalization that addresses the needs of students, faculty and staff. We are actively consulting with stakeholders, but it’s a complex process and it takes time. The draft policy will first go to the board of governors and then out for consultation with the UBC community for robust consultation. It would be inappropriate for the university to comment on any potential details of the policy until the consultation process is complete and we have heard from all of our stakeholders.”