Msu To Arrest Medical Marijuana Patients On Campus

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MSU to arrest medical marijuana patients on campus

Univ. policy says federal law trumps state law

By Todd A. Heywood 11/17/10 8:24 AM EAST LANSING — A policy which prevents registered medical marijuana patients from using or possessing their medicine while at Michigan State University is coming under fire.

 

In a web briefing called “Frequently Asked Questions” on the MSU website, the policy is outlined:

 

3. Does the Act change University policy regarding drug use or possession on campus?

 

No, University policies have not changed. Students and employees may not use or possess marihuana on campus. This is true whether the marihuana is smoked or ingested through other means. Michigan State University is subject to the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 and the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act Amendment of 1989. Consistent with those laws, the MSU Drug and Alcohol Policy prohibits the unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensation, possession, or use of controlled substances, illicit drugs, and alcohol on any property governed by the Board of Trustees and at any site where work is performed by individuals on behalf of the University. The Alcohol and Controlled Substances Policy also applies to employees performing safety-sensitive functions and whose position responsibilities require they obtain a commercial driver’s license.

 

Employees and students who violate University policy prohibiting the use or possession of illegal drugs on campus are subject to disciplinary action through the appropriate disciplinary process.

 

The website was updated on Sept. 23, 2010 according to the site.

 

The problem with the policy, advocates say, is that it violates Michigan’s medical marijuana law, passed by voters in 2008. That law specifically prohibits anyone from denying the same rights and privileges as any other citizen based on the fact that one is a registered medical marijuana user.

 

“MSU is subject to the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 and the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act Amendment of 1989. In addition, the MSU Drug and Alcohol Policy prohibits the unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensation, possession, or use of controlled substances, illicit drugs and alcohol on property governed by the Board of Trustees and at any site where university work is performed,” said Kent Cassella, spokesman for the University. “Employees and students who violate university policy prohibiting the use or possession of illegal drugs on campus are subject to disciplinary action.”

 

Mike Meno, a spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington D.C., disagrees with how Cassella and the university are reading the laws.

 

“The Obama administration has been very clear in its policy of respecting state medical marijuana laws, so there is no reason to believe MSU would be reprimanded simply for following state law,” says Meno. “More to the point, the federal government has almost no interest in charging a college student who is legally allowed to use medical marijuana. Furthermore, a state court in Michigan would be unable to charge someone for violating federal marijuana laws. So the only people interested in arresting and charging public university students who legally use medical marijuana are MSU officials, judging by this statement.”

 

Cassella says that the university has developed policies for those registered medical marijuana patients who attend MSU. Under those policies, the requirement that freshman live on campus can be waived. He also said as part of the “certain accommodations” the university would make of patients it would allow patients “to end their housing contract and move off campus without penalty.”

 

“Anyone who is on MSU’s campus and is suspected of committing a crime or violating university policy is subject to disciplinary action,” Cassella said when asked if the university would seek prosecution of students or faculty who had possession of marijuana, as allowed by the act.

 

“For qualified patients under Michigan’s law, marijuana is a legal medicine, just like any other,” says Meno, from the Marijuana Policy Project. “It would be contemptible for the university to arrest students simply for possessing a potentially life-saving medicine on school grounds. MSU officials have no more reason to discriminate against a student who legally possesses marijuana than they do a student who has a legal prescription for Adderall or anti-depressants.”

 

Contemptible or not, officials at the Michigan Department of Civil Rights say there may not be a violation of civil rights in a case where the university decides to pursue a student who is a registered patient.

 

“That is not an area we have a commission statement on,” said spokesman Harold Core.

 

Core says the cases the department has not had any complaints about housing issues, but it has had several dealing with employment scenarios. He said in that case, the department is reviewing cases in relation to laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability and requiring employers to make ‘reasonable accommodations.’

 

Just such a case is playing out in federal court in West Michigan. There, a Battle Creek resident who was employed by Walmart is suing the company for firing him for testing positive for marijuana in a test following an at work accident. The company has a zero tolerance policy for drugs. The plaintiff, Joseph Casias, has a terminal brain tumor and the marijuana was prescribed by his physician to help alleviate the pain of the cancer.

 

But the issue has not made its way into state policy making circles fully, says Core.

 

“When you have a new law, something like this, you have a period of uncertainties,” says Core.

 

The legal issues are not in the gray zone for Meno.

 

“This policy is an affront to the dignity of students or employees who use marijuana legally to ease chronic and often painful conditions,” says Meno. “It is cruel, unjust, unnecessary, and — under Michigan law — illegal.”

 

http://michiganmessenger.com/43920/msu-to-arrest-medical-marijuana-patients-on-campus