Aly discovered cannabis in her early 20s. Smoking the plant alleviated her depression and anxiety, she says. When Aly, who asked the RFT not to publish her full name, told her doctor, he helped her get a medical marijuana card.
“It was like a temporary moment of peace instead of the constant anxiety and sadness,” Aly says.
This was before Missouri voters legalized recreational marijuana in December. Under Missouri’s medical marijuana laws, however, Aly could legally smoke cannabis in private places and possess up to 4 ounces at a time. But when at school at Maryville University, doing the same could lead to serious consequences.
While state law has gradually loosened cannabis restrictions in recent years, public and private universities have steadfastly maintained bans of cannabis since the drug remains illegal at the federal level. Even colleges and universities that have courses or entire programs on cannabis bar students, faculty and staff from weed on campus, which they say would risk their federal funding.
In 2020, Saint Louis University launched its Cannabis Science and Operations program, which covers cannabis product production, cultivation, entrepreneurship and more. When it comes to possessing or indulging in the very plant students are learning about, Saint Louis University’s policy is clear: It’s not allowed on campus, even if legally obtained.
Same goes with St. Louis Community College, which started offering courses on cannabis science and cultivation in May. Tobacco is also banned on the public college system’s four main campuses throughout the metro area.
The University of Missouri System (which includes Mizzou, UMKC, Missouri S&T and UMSL) receives federal funding for student financial aid, grants and research. Therefore all four of the system’s universities must comply with the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act and Drug-Free Workplace Act.
“If federal laws changed, we would certainly review the changes and make any decision then,” spokesman Christian Basi says. “However, I can’t speculate on exactly what that would look like.”
Aly’s former school, Maryville University, levies “conduct charges” against students caught with cannabis regardless of any medical right students have to possess it. The university, according to its alcohol and controlled substances policy, collects evidence such as witness statements on students suspected of violating the policy.
Punishments increase with repeat offenses; on the first violation, students receive a disciplinary warning and are required to attend an educational seminar. When asked about the content of this seminar, a spokesperson for Maryville University would not elaborate.
Further drug violations at Maryville would potentially result in suspension or removal from university housing, according to the university’s policy.
The policy didn’t feel strongly enforced when Aly was a Maryville University student, she says. But some people “definitely got kicked out of their apartments and faced suspension or expulsion.”
She felt safe enough to smoke in her car if she needed to light up at school. And when hanging out at her friends’ on-campus apartments, she said pot never got them into trouble. “It wasn't like [resident assistants] were knocking at our door unless you were dumb about it,” Aly says. She also understands why it may not be sensible to smoke weed at school for reasons such as its smell and other students’ health restrictions.
Even so, it would have been easier for her to medicate had her school allowed it and maybe even had a space dedicated for such activities, she says.
“For medical patients, it’s medication,” Aly says. “I feel like it’s stupid we’d have to remove ourselves to partake in the things that can help us.”
Some of the campuses that ban weed simultaneously allow students 21 and older to indulge in a far more dangerous substance — alcohol.
Overconsumption of alcohol results in 88,000 deaths per year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Meanwhile, according to the DEA, no deaths from overdose of marijuana have been reported. One would have to consume between 238 and 1,113 joints in a day to overdose on marijuana, according to American Addiction Centers.
Research into the effects of cannabis on the human body is still in its infancy as federal regulations stymies what can be done, so the therapeutic benefits of cannabis are yet to be fully uncovered.
Aly ended up leaving Maryville University in her second year without any marks on her record, so she never had to sit through a policy-required “educational seminar.”
“That’s pretty silly,” she says. “It’s not like we haven’t been told all our lives about the effects of weed.”
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