> Skip to content
FEATURED:
  • The Evolution of Race in Admissions
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
Sign In
ADVERTISEMENT
News
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Show more sharing options
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Copy Link URLCopied!
  • Print

College Lawyers Grapple With the Implications of Medical Marijuana on Campuses

By  Jack Stripling
February 6, 2011
Orlando. Fla.

Emboldened by state laws that accommodate or decriminalize medical marijuana use, a new generation of college students is pushing institutions to let them toke up. But the response from affected colleges has been decidedly ungroovy.

At a panel session during the National Conference on Law and Higher Education here on Sunday, presenters told an audience that consisted mostly of university lawyers that deregulation of marijuana use need not compel colleges to relax their own conduct codes on drug use. That’s because, as recipients of federal funds, colleges are governed by the federal statute that classifies marijuana as a controlled substance, experts said.

We’re sorry. Something went wrong.

We are unable to fully display the content of this page.

The most likely cause of this is a content blocker on your computer or network. Please make sure your computer, VPN, or network allows javascript and allows content to be delivered from c950.chronicle.com and chronicle.blueconic.net.

Once javascript and access to those URLs are allowed, please refresh this page. You may then be asked to log in, create an account if you don't already have one, or subscribe.

If you continue to experience issues, contact us at 202-466-1032 or help@chronicle.com

Emboldened by state laws that accommodate or decriminalize medical marijuana use, a new generation of college students is pushing institutions to let them toke up. But the response from affected colleges has been decidedly ungroovy.

At a panel session during the National Conference on Law and Higher Education here on Sunday, presenters told an audience that consisted mostly of university lawyers that deregulation of marijuana use need not compel colleges to relax their own conduct codes on drug use. That’s because, as recipients of federal funds, colleges are governed by the federal statute that classifies marijuana as a controlled substance, experts said.

Colleges do, however, need to do a much better job of communicating with students, and faculty and staff members about how current conduct codes fit into the context of state legislation concerning marijuana, said Thomas A. Workman, an associate professor of communications at Baylor College of Medicine, who has worked on college substance-abuse-prevention programs.

“We can’t just say ‘Just say no.’ ‘Just say no’ won’t work anymore,” Mr. Workman said at the conference, which was sponsored by the Stetson University College of Law.

Several institutions have already issued statements or revised policies to deal with confusion about the difference between state laws and university codes. Among them is the University of Montana at Missoula, which in 2010 adopted a policy specifically prohibiting the use of marijuana, even by people with state-issued medical-marijuana permits, in university housing, on university property, or at off-campus events sponsored by the institution.

ADVERTISEMENT

Montana officials said at the time that they feared losing federal funds if they reversed the university’s zero-tolerance position.

As could be expected, university policies that deny students access to prescribed marijuana can draw legal challenges. Edward Nicholson, a student at the University of Colorado at Boulder, threatened to sue the institution after the campus police in May 2008 confiscated marijuana he was authorized to administer to his brother, who sustained injuries in football. To great fanfare among legalization advocates, Mr. Nicholson was permitted to move to off-campus housing, and the police returned his two ounces of marijuana.

The university still forbids drug possession on campus, but it will release students from housing contracts if they live in residence halls and have a medical marijuana prescription. Other institutions—including Fort Lewis College, in Colorado, and Humboldt State University, in California—have taken a similar stance, advising medical-marijuana users to live off campus and leave their medicine at home.

Speakers on the panel here pointed out that while the “federal trump card” gives universities legal cover to ban marijuana use without fear of challenge under the Americans With Disabilities Act or similar state laws, they still face challenges when dealing with marijuana use among students.

Students tend to “romanticize” the drug, Mr. Workman said, a factor that is compounded by some professors, who were of college age in the 1960s and associate marijuana with the peace movement.

ADVERTISEMENT

Indeed, it is marijuana’s unique position within popular culture that so lures students to use it, Mr. Workman said. There’s a lot of debate about marijuana’s risks and potential medicinal value, and college administrators simply don’t have a lot of research to point students toward in defense of prohibitive policies.

Students tend to view marijuana as a safe drug that serves a valuable social function, he added. “It’s something you do at a table while making jokes and eating Doritos,” he said, referencing depictions of marijuana use on “That ‘70s Show.”

Darby Dickerson, vice president and dean of Stetson’s law school, said it is important to convey to students, however, that there are reputational and legal risks to consider—even if they have marijuana prescriptions. Courts have upheld employers’ rights to administer drug tests and sanction or terminate employees who fail tests because of prescribed marijuana use, she said.

“You don’t get a free pass because you have a medical-marijuana card,” she said.

Sunday’s conversation invariably turned toward other legal drugs, including synthetic forms of marijuana known as “Spice” or “K2.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Mr. Workman reiterated that existing university policies forbidding the use of substances that pose “harm to self or others” already cover synthetic marijuana, but he expressed consternation with how frequently new substances seem to appear on the college scene. He noted, for example, the emerging trend of students snorting bath salts for a high.

“I don’t know who was the bright, bright egg,” he said. “Who was the future of America who said, ‘Hmm, I wonder what would happen if I snort this up my nose?’”

We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Jack Stripling
Jack Stripling was a senior writer at The Chronicle, where he covered college leadership, particularly presidents and governing boards. Follow him on Twitter @jackstripling.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Explore
    • Get Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Blogs
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
    Explore
    • Get Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Blogs
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
  • The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Write for Us
    • Talk to Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Site Map
    • Accessibility Statement
    The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Write for Us
    • Talk to Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Site Map
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Advertising Terms and Conditions
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
    Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Advertising Terms and Conditions
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
  • Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
    Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2023 The Chronicle of Higher Education
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin