PEI

Holland College prepares for legal marijuana

You'll be able to have your cannabis on P.E.I.'s Holland College campuses when it becomes legal next month, but you won't be able to smoke it.

Instructors trained to detect impairment

You can have your marijuana but can't smoke it. (David Donnelly/CBC)

You'll be able to have your cannabis on P.E.I.'s Holland College campuses when it becomes legal next month, but you won't be able to smoke it.

"The introduction of legal cannabis causes us to rethink our view of substance use and abuse on campus," said college vice president Sandy MacDonald in an interview with CBC News: Island Morning Tuesday.

MacDonald said safety was the primary concern in the school's review, noting there are programs at the school — such as commercial diving and welding — where there are serious safety concerns should students come to class impaired.

Instructors have received training in how to detect impairment, he added.

And while it will be legal for students to have marijuana on campus, the school will remain smoke-free, as defined in the province's Smoke-free Places Act.

"You can't smoke tobacco anywhere on our campus — residence, classrooms, fields," said MacDonald.

"The same holds true of marijuana. You can have a bong, you can have marijuana, but you just can't smoke them on our campus anywhere."

Marijuana will be legal in Canada as of Oct. 17.

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With files from Island Morning