HALIFAX—Nova Scotia’s Department of Education is preparing for cannabis legalization by creating a “collective philosophy,” on dealing with the soon-to-be-legal drug in schools, and it will be passed around to teachers and administrators as soon as next week.

Steve Machat is the director of personal development and wellness for the Department of Education, and he told StarMetro that he’s been compiling a reference guide for teachers on safe cannabis use.

He called it a “collective philosophy on how to teach about cannabis, but also about substance use and misuse in general.”

“It will contain really good advice and direction around how to handle these kinds of questions related to cannabis,” he said.

Machat added that the information is sourced from the federal government, provincial health authorities, and researchers like the Halifax-based adolescent psychiatrist Stan Kutcher.

He said he and his colleagues were still fact-checking their guide and didn’t know if it would be available in time for legalization on Oct. 17.

Cannabis is already part of the health education curriculum and will remain there along with alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.

"We're very content with where we are right now with our curriculum,” said Machat. “It provides the sort of appropriate balance and the appropriate sort of insight into what's needed.”

The province recently released a message to parents and guardians about cannabis legalization, and it says the focus of the health education curriculum is on “nurturing and fostering skills that lead to not using substances as well as making healthy informed decisions.”

But with the public discourse around cannabis ramping up because of legalization, Machat said all teachers – not just those assigned to health education – are likely to be having more conversations about the drug, too.

Despite it being legal for most Nova Scotians to buy and consume cannabis starting next week, it will still be prohibited for anyone under the age of 19, which includes most school-aged kids and youth.

Possession and use will still be banned on school properties, as they already are in Nova Scotia’s school code of conduct policy.

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Still, Machat said he knows schools have been dealing with cannabis use for a long time, and he doesn’t want to discourage a dialogue between students and teachers, especially starting around age 14, which is when he said interest piques.

“It's not trying to create fear in students, we know that doesn't work, it actually has the opposite effect. Students love it when you create fear 'cause it's like 'Hey I want to go try that,’” he said.

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