Medical Marijuana STAFFED
University Police’s annual security report, released to the campus community Oct. 1, revealed a precipitous drop last year in the number of arrests at this university for drug-related violations. After more than 150 arrests in each of the previous two years, last year saw just 78 — a 51 percent decrease from 2013.
It’s no coincidence that 2014 was the year Maryland decriminalized possession of less than 10 grams of marijuana, effectively striking casual marijuana use from the Clery Act arrest statistics. Amid an increasingly inconsistent national landscape of marijuana regulation, this state’s decision to ease the punishment for light use of the relatively harmless drug was a step in the right direction, and its positive effects are becoming evident.
Campus disciplinary referrals for drug-related violations also fell last year, from 145 to 121. Interestingly, referrals were already on the decline in 2013, from 233 the year before. But Steve Petkas, a Department of Resident Life associate director, cited marijuana decriminalization as a factor in this change as well.
But while evolving state policy might have made College Park a less harsh place to be caught smoking weed, the campus is still behind the curve when it comes to an important facet of marijuana use.
The same day in April 2014 that then-Gov. Martin O’Malley signed the bill decriminalizing the drug, he also put his name on a measure legalizing medical marijuana, making this state the 21st to do so. Would-be growers and dispensers can apply to the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission for licenses to participate in an industry that’s expected to be up and running by the end of next year.
However, the state’s legalization of medical marijuana — intended to relieve the symptoms of “chronic or debilitating disease” in qualifying patients, as the legislation put it — does not extend to this campus. Marijuana is still fully illegal at the federal level, and because this university receives funding from the federal government, “we cannot forgo enforcement of the law,” Petkas said.
So medical marijuana users will not be charged criminally, but they can still get in trouble if they’re caught at the university. In addition to citations from police, they could face a battery of university sanctions under the Code of Student Conduct and dorm rules, including “potential housing termination, suspension or probation in addition to educational sanctions to address their drug use,” said Keira Moore, assistant director of Resident Life for Student Conduct.
A student, professor or staff member who uses marijuana to alleviate extreme pain should not be treated the same as somebody who’s just smoking for fun. While the university does face a contradictory set of laws from the state and Washington — itself a case study in the convoluted nature of marijuana policy — it should not lag behind the rest of the state in allowing people to use the drug to cope with disease.
