On Oct. 17, recreational marijuana will be legal in Canada.
The Nova Scotia Community College will be rolling out their new cannabis policy this week across the province.
The college has designated smoking areas where students can smoke or vape, but officials say cannabis will not be allowed.
“Cannabis will be legal up to, I believe, 30 grams, and you can possess cannabis as a legal substance, however, you will not be able to smoke it,” said NSCC vice-president Monica Foster.
The policy applies to staff members as well.
“If you are not fit to learn or work, you will not be able to participate in activities that day, so from the standpoint of the college, it is kind of the same as it was before,” Foster said.
Dalhousie University already has a no-smoking policy, which came into effect in 2003 and prohibits all forms of smoking, including cannabis, in all university buildings on university property, and in university vehicles.
At Saint Mary's University there is a complete ban on using tobacco.
Once legal, cannabis will fall under the same rules.
“We actually went smoke-free a number of years ago and that was a decision that was taken based on the effects of second-hand smoking and health implications,” said Saint Mary’s associate vice-president Margaret Murphy. “So, once we have applied that to tobacco, now that cannabis is becoming legal, we apply the same rules to cannabis as well.”
Cannabis will also not be allowed to be used in any residences on the campus, with the exception of those who require medical marijuana.
“We would encourage them to speak to the director of housing and then it would be treated just like any other prescription drug. So that's something that they would work out with the head of residences and make them aware of their own situation,” Murphy said.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Natasha Pace.
