Despite months of preparation for the legalization of recreational cannabis, there is still a lot of confusion at B.C. colleges and universities about where and when users will be able to light up 鈥� and which schools will lead the way in teaching about the drug and its social, health and business ramifications.
Rules governing cannabis consumption on school grounds remain varied among post-secondary organizations, as does the development of new courses of study about what will be a massive economic driver of the Canadian economy.
Large-scale universities like the University of Victoria and the University of British Columbia have announced they will have designated areas for cannabis smoking and vaping to ensure a safe environment is provided for students.
鈥淯nder the revised Policy 15, which is the UBC smoking policy, we are planning on treating the smoking of cannabis in the same way that we are currently treating the smoking of tobacco,鈥� said Michael Serebriakov, legal counsel for UBC.
鈥淥n the Okanagan campus, smoking will be restricted to smoking gazebos and, as far as I understand it, designating several of them to be cannabis-permitted while the other ones will be tobacco use only.
鈥淥n the Vancouver campus, smoking cannabis will be prohibited indoors, inside bus shelters and within eight metres of doors and air intakes.鈥�
UBC has developed little in the curriculum about the cannabis industry and does not have plans for future course offerings. Island counterpart UVic has not developed any industry-specific courses either but, like UBC, it聽 has plant experts eager to further research health implications of cannabis consumption.
UBC and UVic, given their expansive campuses and access to housing, will not outright ban cannabis use on campus, while schools like Douglas College, which does not offer student housing, will adopt a strict restriction on cannabis consumption on school grounds.
鈥淲ithin the smoke-free policy, we have indicated no smoking of any kind,鈥� said Sarah Dench, Douglas College鈥檚 associate vice-president of academic and student affairs. 鈥淲e want a safe and healthy working and learning environment and we don鈥檛 want to compromise anyone鈥檚 safety or health.鈥�
Douglas College has stated is has no cannabis-related curriculum in the works.
The British Columbia Institute of Technologyhas developed a no-cannabis policy as well and has not developed cannabis-related courses.
However, BCIT is home to Paula Brown, Canada Research Chair in Phytoanalytics (plant-based medicines). Brown and her team are developing an open-access instruction manual that will guide cannabis research with the aim of broadening public knowledge of the drug and its effects.
Kwantlen Polytechnic Universityhas been expanding not only its presence on the post-secondary spectrum 鈥� the institute recently opened its fifth campus location in Surrey鈥檚 Civic Plaza 鈥� but also its place in the development of formal cannabis industry career training.
鈥淲e are building this industry from scratch,鈥� said David Purcell, director of emerging business at KPU.
KPU has been offering cannabis career training courses for over three years and has plans to continue to build and diversify its offerings.
鈥淸The cannabis industry] is going to need a large number of skilled workers, and these types of [cannabis-related] courses and our efforts to create more of these types of courses can provide the skills necessary to take advantage of this opportunity,鈥� Purcell said.
Smoking and vaping of tobacco or cannabis is prohibited on all KPU campuses and properties. But policy-makers are still grappling with how best to handle what鈥檚 to come.
KPU is finishing up a policy that defines responsible use of drugs and alcohol and prohibits impairment in the workplace or classroom.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 be impaired,鈥� said Jane Fee, KPU鈥檚 vice-provost of students. 鈥淲e are not saying 鈥榥o cannabis鈥� any more than we are saying 鈥榥o alcohol.鈥� What we are referring to is the issue of intoxication.
鈥淚t is a little bit of a different take than some other places, and I am sure we will see a lot of policy changes over the next five years.鈥�
