Kitchener-Waterloo

New pot policy in the works for University of Guelph

The University of Guelph said it will be updating its smoke-free policy on campus to prepare for the legalization of cannabis come October.

Students will not be allowed to smoke marijuana anywhere on campus, including student dorms

The University of Guelph says it's currently running public meetings to consult about a smoke-free policy on campus. (University of Guelph/Facebook)

The University of Guelph is working on a smoke-free policy for campus.

It will include consultations with students, staff and faculty, and part of that conversation will include talking about cannabis, which becomes legal on October 17.

Don O'Leary, vice president of administration and finance, said the school is creating a new no-smoking policy, which will prohibit the smoking of all tobacco and cannabis products on campus or in student residences. 

"We're going through a public process here with stakeholders," O'Leary told CBC K-W. He also said they would "step up" the public consultations in fall when students are back at school. 

"We've got many smokers here and we have to be respectful of those folks. We're looking at consultation and conversation with those folks to see how we move forward with this non-smoking on campus policies." 

No cannabis sales allowed

In addition, O'Leary said the university will not permit the sale of any cannabis on campus. 

The university will also be following the Cannabis Act legislation in October, which prohibits those aged 18 and younger from using marijuana, he said.

O'Leary said the school is still figuring out how it will deal with marijuana edibles and deliveries from the province's online store. 

"We still haven't put our heads around how we'd deal with that aspect," he said. 

While the University of Guelph is trying to create a new policy, the University of Waterloo said it will be enforcing the school's existing smoking and alcohol policy for cannabis. 

"We have a working group that is examining our policies to see if any part of them have to be updated to accommodate marijuana," said university spokesman Matthew Grant. 

He said he "expects edibles will be legal in residences," but only when "the law explicitly allows them." 

"We currently don't accept liquor deliveries to residences," Grant said. "No decision has been made on marijuana. That is something the committee is discussing." 

Wilfrid Laurier University also said it will be enforcing its existing non-smoking policy for student residences, which also prohibits smoking marijuana. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Peggy Lam

Producer

Peggy is a producer and show writer for CBC's The National, based in Vancouver. She was previously a reporter in Kitchener-Waterloo, Edmonton and Winnipeg. She has a master's degree in journalism and a bachelor of arts in human geography. You can reach her at peggy.lam@cbc.ca