Cannabis may not be new to some students at Maritime universities, but now that it's legal, there may be some confusion about what's allowed on campus.
For decades, students at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, N.S., have called the road to the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation store “liquor lane.”
Now, it’s a path to legal cannabis and many are excited.
“For students, it's going to be a different experience, having it legal, and honestly, it's just more of a freedom really,” said St. F.X. student Alexander Shaw.
That freedom will depend on which maritime campus a legal-age student is attending.
At the University of New Brunswick, smoking pot is not permitted anywhere on campus property, including residences.
Cape Breton University is smoke-free, but there are two designated areas where people can smoke tobacco or weed.
Not everyone likes the restriction.
“It's not convenient for the smoking people,” said Cape Breton University student Jaiden Nile.“I think we maybe can do more than two spots for smoking.”
The rules are even more stringent at Dalhousie University, which has a no-smoking policy on campus; the same goes for Saint Mary’s University.
Both schools say they're assessing the new law to see if any changes might be in order.
St. F.X. is not a smoke-free campus, but students have been told they can't light up in any building or residence and they must be more than 20 metres away from any entrance or air intake to a building.
“There are no designated areas on campus, but we do expect our staff, faculty and students, to comply with the Nova Scotia Smoke-Free Places Act,” said St. F.X. spokeswoman Cindy MacKenzie.
The slightly relaxed rules at St. F.X. may not be in place much longer. MacKenzie says the administration is considering, making the entire campus smoke-free by January.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Dan MacIntosh.
