Arizona voted “yes” on Proposition 207 on Nov. 3, but students on Arizona State University’s campus likely won’t see changes to university policy.
When it goes into effect, Proposition 207 will legalize the recreational use of marijuana as well as possession and cultivation of it by people 21 years old and older. Just as smoking marijuana for medicinal purposes in public is prohibited, smoking recreationally in public spaces would also not be allowed.
Prop. 207 will also put a 16% excise tax – a tax that is paid indirectly and often included in the price of a good or service – on marijuana sales to fund public programs. State and local regulations of licensees related to these activities will be authorized as well.
DIVE IN: Prop 207 could affect Arizona in different ways, experts say
“Arizona voter approval of Proposition 207 will not impact ASU because it is consistent with existing state law under which the Supreme Court has ruled the university may prohibit marijuana use on campus due to superseding federal law,” said Herminia Rincon, an Arizona State University spokesperson from the Dean of Students office.
“Students who commit violations of the Student Code of Conduct that involve marijuana are guided to a variety of substance abuse resources provided by the University,” Rincon said. “And they may be subject to disciplinary action.”
When it comes to ASU, existing policy states that the university is a “drug-free campus.”
A 2014 survey from ASU’s Community of Care course – a freshman-aimed course that educates students on ASU policy – found that only 12% of students surveyed used marijuana one or more times in the past month.
“ASU doesn’t allow for marijuana use on campus, even for those with a medical marijuana prescription,” according to the course.
“If someone has a medical marijuana card and they are possessing marijuana on campus, as the law states right now, they are not in violation of the law,” said ASU Police Department Commander John Thomspon. “They’re only in violation of school policy.”
If campus police are called for a policy violation that occurred in university housing and the resident had a medical marijuana card, Thomspon said the normal procedure would be to confirm that the card is valid and that the amount the resident may possess is within the legal limits.
“As long as all that checks out, then we basically go: ‘We’re done here. There’s no crime. Our investigation is done.’ We basically turn it over to housing at that point,” Thompson said.
However, students possessing medical marijuana cards were “not usually the case,” according to Thompson.
“From last year, there were 30 drug-related referrals,” Thompson said, referring to the university’s most recently released Clery Report.
EXPLORE: Crime levels rise and fall on ASU downtown Phoenix campus
“If housing smells the odor of marijuana or something like that, like the C.A.’s while they’re doing their walks, they’ll knock on the door. If the person’s being compliant and they only have a small amount, a lot of times housing will just deal with it internally and we won’t get a phone call. That’s how those numbers get reported.”
Second-year Community Assistant (C.A.) Erik Hansen said that, aside from lockouts, the calls he receives most are about marijuana usage in Taylor Place.
“More often than not we can kind of tell if we’re in for anything when they open the door,” Hansen said. “Some of the tell-tale signs are that the scent gets thicker or you see a bed sheet under the door. That one’s pretty common. They say it’s for noise, but we know what it’s for. Then we talk to them about what ASU’s policy is.”
Even if the occupants of the room do not concede any violation of university policy, Hansen said, an advocacy report is still written.
“All we can say is ‘It was between these rooms,’” he said. “If we can narrow it down to five rooms and it is figured out later in the year that that room was the culprit, if they were caught, the previous write-up will go against their record, too.”
“If it was anything other than marijuana, they probably would call us out,” Thompson said. “They’re not really trained to deal with things other than marijuana.”
“We try to do the more diversion-type stuff to the degree that we can,” Thompson said. “It does depend on a lot of different circumstances. So yes, we do make arrests. We do arrest students for possession of drugs and paraphernalia, but we also don’t arrest them and use other avenues to try and get the same result. That result, basically, is changing that behavior.”
Contact the reporter at kcdorman@asu.edu.
