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New York state recently legalized recreational marijuana, but Syracuse University still prohibits the use, possession and distribution of the drug on campus in compliance with federal law. Private colleges that receive federal funding, such as SU, should be able to allow students to use recreational marijuana on campus. 

The Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act, passed in 1989, mandates that institutions receiving federal funding address marijuana use in their drug policies or face the potential loss of their funding under Title IV. The policy also impacts state schools such as SUNY-ESF.

The federal government should allow private universities and state schools to follow state law in regards to the legal use of recreational marijuana without the risk of losing their federal funding.

If the state that the university is located in has legalized the use of recreational marijuana, why shouldn’t the university follow state laws? What sense does it make for a university to ban the use of a legal substance on campus to follow federal laws?

The substance is legal in New York state, and students caught using it on campus can’t face any legal consequences, though they may face repercussions for violating SU’s Code of Student Conduct. The drug is also not as addictive as other, harder substances, and studies have shown that using marijuana does not lead people to use other drugs. 

SU students drink alcohol and use marijuana at parties both on and off campus, and they’re going to continue to do so despite potential disciplinary consequences from the university. The university can regulate recreational marijuana-use on campus all they want, but students will still find a way to use it. SU should be able to apply New York state laws regarding marijuana on campus. 

Regardless of federal law, the university should also do more to clearly define the areas where students can and can’t smoke marijuana, so students can do so legally without facing disciplinary repercussions from SU.

We all know what happened during the Prohibition era, and it wasn’t pretty. This same logic should be applied to the use of recreational marijuana on campus. The federal government should let private universities in states that have legalized recreational marijuana allow students to use the drug on their campuses.

Samantha Kolb is an environmental studies major at SUNY-ESF. Her column appears biweekly. She can be reached at sakolb@syr.edu.

Published on April 20, 2021 at 7:16 am