Pubdate: Mon, 12 Nov 2012
Source: USA Today (US)
Copyright: 2012 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/625HdBMl
Website: http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/index.htm
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/466
Author: Natalie DiBlasio

SCHOOLS ON NEW POT LAWS: NOT ON OUR CAMPUS

Social media is abuzz with future college students dreaming of doing 
bong hits openly on the greens of universities in Colorado and 
Washington state. But those dreams may go up in smoke.

"If someone thinks they are going to walk around campus smoking a 
joint, it's not going to happen," University of Washington spokesman 
Norman Arkans says.

Although voters in Colorado and Washington approved the legalization 
of marijuana, officials aren't expecting cannabis-welcoming changes 
in campus policy.

The federal government still considers marijuana illegal, and 
universities don't want to risk their federal funding for research or 
student financial aid.

"We don't see that it will change our policies very much," Arkans 
says. "We get caught in the vise between the state law and our 
obligations under the federal government. While it may be legal two 
blocks off campus, it will be illegal under federal law, so it will 
be illegal on campus."

Even the University of Colorado-Boulder, which tops Princeton 
Review's list of "Reefer Madness" schools, doesn't expect a change in 
policy anytime soon.

"We have a lot of sorting out to do," says University of 
Colorado-Boulder spokesman Bronson Hilliard. The Drug-Free Schools 
and Communities Act puts the university at risk for all of its 
federal funding if they knowingly and willingly allow 
illegal-substance use on campus.

"Now the question is, 'Is that a federal definition or a state 
definition of illegal?'" Hilliard says. "We are already sorting 
through it now, but it's complex, and it's going to take time."

Other universities, including the University of Denver and The 
Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., are waiting to hear from 
lawyers and the government on how the ruling will affect them. 
University of Denver spokeswoman Kim DeVigil says it's too soon to 
know how the school will handle the passage of the amendment.

Under the Colorado and Washington laws, personal possession of up to 
an ounce of marijuana will be legal for anyone 21 and older. Cannabis 
would be sold and taxed at state-licensed stores. In Colorado, a 
person could have up to six marijuana plants, but "grow-your-own" pot 
will still be banned in Washington. Both states prohibit public use.

"You won't see a big influx of people who just want to go to school 
in these states just because they want to party. They already can go 
party," court-qualified cannabis expert Chris Conrad says. "The age 
limit is 21, so until they are 21, it will not make a huge 
difference, no matter what campus they are on."

Craig Hirokawa, a University of Denver senior, voted against 
legalizing marijuana. "What sort of message are we sending if we're 
using pot money to fund education?" the political science major asks.

Hirokawa, 22, of Parker, Colo., says he doesn't think the new law 
will lead to an influx of drug users enrolling in the school. "They 
would have to wait three years to be able to smoke," he says, 
referring to the fact that people must be 21 to possess pot.

His opposition may be the minority view on campus. At a university 
election-watch party Hirokawa attended Tuesday, most students seemed 
happy with the results, he says.

"I find it difficult to believe that universities are all of the 
sudden going to have cannabis-friendly coffee shops on campus," says 
Chris Simunek, editor in chief of High Times magazine, which 
advocates the legalization of marijuana. "I think, for universities, 
it is going to be best for them to look the other way, like they have 
been doing for years."

Contributing: Yamiche Alcindor
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom