I will never forget my first ever resident advisor training. 

During one session, university police officers stopped by to educate us on the proper ways to handle drug and alcohol incidents. I’m not sure if it was the subject matter or the fact that they brought in a police dog, but I vividly remember this session because it was the first time many of my peers were educated on the look and smell of marijuana. 

Although marijuana is illegal under federal law, most states have begun to reconsider their stances on it over the last decade. There were a few early pioneers: Oregon was the first to decriminalize marijuana and California was the first to make marijuana legal specifically for medicinal use. Today, 11 states and Washington D.C. have fully legalized and decriminalized the use of marijuana. 

With different types of legalization for marijuana passing through state legislators, many institutions are left navigating their own policies and procedures.

I spoke with three housing and residence life professionals representing three states across the country. I wanted to learn how their institutions approach marijuana use from a policy standpoint and if departmental attitudes and student perceptions on marijuana usage are changing with the times. 

In California, marijuana is legal for recreational and medical use for adults age 21 and over.

What are your institutional and housing policies regarding marijuana?

We are a federally funded campus. Therefore, we fall under the federal guidelines for the use of marijuana. California State University Long Beach is a smoke-free campus so you cannot smoke marijuana or tobacco on campus or in the residence halls. The use of smokeless marijuana or tobacco products is also prohibited.

If students are found in possession, what is the proper protocol and what kind of conduct sanctions do you issue?

Our policy is that we call university police. But once they arrive, they are mostly there for us as backup; res life professional staff handles mostly everything. 

In regards to student conduct, we are not a zero-tolerance school meaning students do not get kicked out if they are found smoking marijuana. We use a restorative conduct model. There are different levels of sanctions depending on if a student is a first-time offender or if they are found in violation multiple times. A typical sanction is a mandatory alcohol and other drugs course that the students have to complete. 

Are attitudes within housing and residence life changing around marijuana?

Interestingly enough, a majority of our housing and residence life professional staff are from out of state where marijuana laws are still strict. So it’s common for our out of state staff to have a more traditional attitude around marijuana. 

For professionals, students, or student staff from California, usage is more normalized. Therefore, if a student gets caught with using marijuana, it is viewed similarly to an alcohol violation – aka not as severe. There isn’t as big of a stigma of marijuana usage here in California.

How has California’s legality impacted your housing or institutional policies? 

Our actual policies have been consistent with federal law so nothing really changed when marijuana became legal. What has changed is our relationship with university police. The university had to meet with university police, legal, and housing to figure out how they wanted to move forward in treating marijuana incidents. 

What resources, if any, are available to help students struggling with substance abuse?

We have Beach Recovery, a collegiate recovery community. If students dealing with substance abuse or addiction leave campus for any reason, the program is set up to assist students as they come back to campus with resources and designated individuals as support systems. 

In New Jersey, marijuana is:

• Illegal for recreational use.
• Legal for medical use only. Approved debilitating medical conditions include: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, anxiety, cancer, chronic pain, dysmenorrhea (menstrual cramps), glaucoma, inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn’s disease, migraines, PTSD, HIV/AIDS, seizure disorders, Tourette syndrome, and any terminal illness with a prognosis of fewer than 12 months to live.

What are your institutional and housing policies regarding marijuana?

It’s a banned substance. You are not allowed to have it on campus. 

If students are found in possession, what is the proper protocol and what kind of conduct sanctions do you issue?

If someone is suspected of actively smoking marijuana in a residence hall, RAs and professional staff will try to pinpoint where it’s coming from and then will call university police to help verify. 

If there is a health and safety check and housing finds paraphernalia or marijuana left out in the open in a student’s room, university police will confiscate those items. Students found in violation will be processed through the student code of conduct and have a meeting with a residence life professional. 

We want to make sure that students understand how their actions and behaviors have impacted their community.

Are attitudes within housing and residence life changing around marijuana?

Absolutely. I attest that to the overall perception of marijuana in the United States. The hush-hush taboo view of it has changed since more places are legalizing it for things like medicinal usage. We are moving to a place as a society where these conversations are more open but our policies are not changing anytime soon.

If marijuana were to become legal in New Jersey recreationally, what impact do you think that will have on residence life and housing?

I think it would impact our policies first and foremost. We have a standard of behavior for our students, and we’d need to reexamine how our policies and procedures align with state and federal law. But we still have a smoke-free campus policy and we are a private institution so it could just stay the same. 

What resources, if any, are available to help students struggling with substance abuse?

We have our dean of students office, counseling and psychological services, as well as student health services. Oh and our CARE team. There is definitely support all across campus. 

In Texas, marijuana is:

• Illegal for recreational use.
• Medical cannabis is legal in Texas in very limited circumstances. The Texas Compassionate Use Act and House Bill 3703 only allows individuals with epilepsy or diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and Lou Gehrig’s disease, or ALS to access cannabis oil with less than 0.5% THC. 

What are your institutional and housing policies regarding marijuana?

It’s not allowed to be used, period. You cannot use it at all, neither medical nor recreational. Our housing policy in the licensing agreement states that we follow the student code of conduct — where it states that the use of drugs is prohibited. 

If students are found in possession, what is the proper protocol and what kind of conduct sanctions do you issue?

If something is sighted, an RA or res life professional staff is called and so is our police department. 

If there is paraphernalia involved, PD will usually take over the investigation. They will issue a citation and the student can expect a conduct meeting with the res life professional staff in charge of the community to follow. 

Our sanctions are educational in nature. Although we are not a zero-tolerance campus, marijuana usage is not tolerated. We definitely want to hold students accountable. We aren’t out here trying to get you in trouble or make you feel bad for making poor choices, but we want students to understand the impact of their actions. 

At the end of the day, students will do what they want to do. We — housin — need to send the right messaging that conveys support, education, and compassion and hope they do better next time.

Are attitudes within housing and residence life changing around marijuana?

No, not really since we are still a smoke-free campus. 

If marijuana becomes legal in Texas, what impact do you think that will have on residence life and housing?

UH is very progressive so I’d like to think if the state were to change their policies and laws in regards to marijuana, they’d take time to reconsider what that means for the institution. There are a lot of mitigating factors with that but it also could all just stay the same.

What resources, if any, are available to help students struggling with substance abuse?

Cougars in Recovery! Also, our wellness center does active programming throughout the year and of course, staff are mandatory reporters so we are here to help students whenever they need. 

Your Thoughts?

What do you think the future of marijuana looks like in higher education? How does your institution navigate state laws? Let us know via Twitter @themoderncampus and @Meg_Roll.