By Jessie Weisner

Local high schools feel prepared for pot legalization

Oct 18, 2018 | 5:35 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — Many workplaces have adjusted policies to deal with the legalization of marijuana, and many schools are on the same page.

Although cannabis has never been allowed in schools, faculty and students are still adjusting to Canada’s new reality.

During lunchtime, some students head across the street to smoke off school property.

Now that marijuana is legal, we asked some students if they think more of their peers will turn to pot.

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“I think people are going do it if they want to do it and if they don’t they’re not,” says Riley Laursem, a high school student. “I think that everyone who does it is still going do it, maybe some people will pick it up but that’s about it.”

According to Statistics Canada as of 2012, about 46.2 per cent of Albertans between the ages of 15 and 26 have tried pot, which is slightly above the national average of 44.8 per cent.

When it comes to the possibility of students smoking during school hours, the principal of Medicine Hat High School doesn’t feel much is going to change

“Have we noticed any changes recently? No, but we’re curious because we don’t know what the next steps are and how the people are going to handle it,” says Boris Grisonich, principal of Medicine Hat high. “We think we have a lot of kids that make tremendous choices with a lot of support from their families and we’re pretty confident that’s not going to change now.”

Grisonich says the school has never had any issues with cannabis use, and if something comes up, he’ll meet with students individually to discuss a solution.

The school board says it’s willing to adapt to any changes, and it feels prepared for what’s ahead.

“A system has to be willing to be responsive to change in their community. At this time we think the policies that are in place fit with the change in reality.”

Students are strictly forbidden from possessing or being under the influence of cannabis on school property.

Despite the legal age to consume pot is 18, no exceptions will be made for students who meet the age requirement.

“Marijuana has kind of gone from being more like drugs to being more like alcohol,” says Grisonich. “They might be legal in some places in the city, but not here, no matter how old you are.”

The school board says its current policies align with the School Act, the Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Act, as well as the Tobacco Smoking Reduction Act.

In the meantime, the school trusts its students to make the best decision to keep themselves and their peers safe.