Cannabis and the Classroom: How Are Things Standing?

Cannabis laws continue to create all sorts of challenges, especially as more states legalize recreational and medicinal cannabis while the federal government maintains it as a Schedule 1 illegal substance.

State laws regarding the purchase and cultivation of weed can be difficult, and marijuana in the workplace presents a unique challenge for many employers. Even classrooms, both high school and college, face new challenges as their federal and state governments continue to have conflicting views on marijuana use on campus.

Photo by Cottonbro from Pexels

RELATED: Why Schools Must Have Cannabis-Based Medicines for Students

Marijuana on college campuses has a long illegal history. Think back to the late 1960s, and one of the first images that will likely spring to mind is a group of long-haired, free-loving college students smoking joints and holding a peace or protest sign on an academic lawn. Today, however, there is less peace and love regarding marijuana politics on college campuses. Instead, there seems to be tough politics, guided by fear.

Most colleges, even those in states where medical and recreational marijuana is legal, outright prohibit the possession and use of marijuana on college campuses. The main reason for this college ban is that most college universities have a lot of federal money tied up. “Colleges and universities that accept these federal funds must remain compliant with the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act, which means that use and/or possession of cannabis in any form or possession of paraphernalia on campus will not be tolerated. ” corresponding Campus and Drug Preventiona DEA website.

Not all colleges receive large sums of money directly from the government, but federal funds are tied into all sorts of programs, grants, and loans. This may even have made privately run institutions think twice before softening their marijuana policies. “I think schools are just worried about rocking the boat and jeopardizing that funding,” Robert Mikos, a law professor at Vanderbilt University Law School, said forbes.

The article went further to show the unfortunate outcome for medical marijuana users that this reality has forced. “It puts [universities] in this awful position: ‘I’m breaking the law if I don’t snatch the medicine out of the hands of these sick students’.” said Peter Grinspoon, Physician and Board Member at Doctors for Cannabis Regulation. “It also shows how federal illegality puts these institutions, who want to do what is best for their students, in these impossible positions.”

Some students object to these anti-medical marijuana rules at colleges. “In states where medical marijuana is legal, students who are penalized for using it sue their schools in court.” according to USA Today. Schoolchildren discriminate in their local lawsuits. These problems are likely to arise only if the nation becomes more accepting of marijuana use and if the government maintains its Schedule 1 status for the drug.

In states where marijuana is legal, there are even laws and discussions about cannabis in high school classrooms. Rhode Island is the latest state to legalize recreational marijuana. This legalization may have relaxed marijuana laws, but it also prompted a call for policies when it comes to the administration of medical marijuana in schools. “Rhode Island school districts are required to develop protocols for administering medical marijuana to students with established medical conditions under a new state regulation.” according to that Journal of Providence.

Photo by AHPhotoswpg/Getty Images

RELATED: Feds are withdrawing mental health grants from schools that allow medical marijuana

Colorado also allows medical marijuana administration by school nurses and has even passed legislation detailing how and when this can happen. While there are many rules and regulations, this policy is actually progressive when you see how many states outright ban the use of medical marijuana in schools. “The law protects school staff from criminal prosecution if they possess and administer medical marijuana to a student at the school.” after a summary of the draft law of the colored General Assembly.

Legislation like this shows progress, but progress has been slow as most educational institutions will continue to fear the consequences of violating federal policy. As with many other state laws, those affecting cannabis and the classroom will likely sit in purgatory waiting for the federal government to make its next move on marijuana.