Campus drug policy remains unchanged

The CSB+SJU campus drug policy has not changed this year, even with Minnesota’s new law allowing recreational marijuana use as of Aug. 1.

Despite these state law changes, CSB+SJU is expected to abide by the Drug-Free School and Campuses Regulations as an institution of higher education, which prohibits recreational drug use on college campuses.

“There are no new policies just new laws,” CSB Security Director Darren Swanson said. “Obviously, we’re trying to do the education piece, sending emails, having conversations with people. I think the law is pretty clear, and so is the drug policy.”

The drug policy states that CSB+SJU must promote the need for responsible behavior in personal relationships and serious academic endeavors. Whether on campus or at college-sponsored events, all students and staff are prohibited from distributing, possessing or using any illegal drug or controlled substance. The policy states that CSB+SJU complies with federal, state and local laws regulating substance possession and use.

The policy also prohibits providing alcoholic beverages to individuals under the age of 21. While the campus policy allows for individuals of legal age to consume and possess alcohol, this does not apply to the use and possessions of marijuana.

While the state law has seen changes, the federal law has not changed. Marijuana is still classified as a Schedule 1 drug on the federal level, which means it does not have currently accepted medical use and is considered to have a high risk of abuse.

“One of the key factors in this is that it’s still not legal federally. Most schools in the state of Minnesota receive federal funding, which means that, federally, we can’t approve marijuana use on campus,” Swanson said.

This new law not only has the potential to affect students of CSB+SJU but also the community of St. Joseph.

“There has never been a policy change I have seen that’s been like this; it’s sort of unprecedented,” St. Joseph City Administrator David Murphy said. “I guess we are still figuring out what it all means and how it will affect our community.”

Murphy said the city had many things to consider when ruling policies and operations moving forward since the new law was put into place.

“There are some things that the local government can regulate. One of them is usage in public and that kind of thing. What happened is that Stearns County actually passed a resolution in an ordinance stating that restricts smoking in public areas, like public parks, and particularly in areas where minors would be in contact,” Murphy said.

The city of St. Joseph decided to follow Stearns County as it relates to regulation of marijuana use, meaning there can’t be smoking in public or places where minors are present. The law also regulates marijuana use in multi-housing units such as apartments or resident halls.

“For a variety of reasons, our policies haven’t changed. It’s not any different. It’s not like it’s going to be new and introduced to our campus,” SJU Security Director Shawn Vierzba said. “We’ve dealt with marijuana issues on campus before, and we will continue to enforce the policy as we have in the past.”

Swanson and Vierzba said CSB+SJU hasn’t seen a major increase in drug violations since the law was passed and a large swing isn’t anticipated. Similarly, Murphy said the city of St. Joseph has not seen a rise in incidents since Aug. 1.

“I wouldn’t say that we’re going to be at any more risk or have any more violations than anywhere else. here are a few more young people here in town because we have a college; you’re in the middle of it, but there are young people in every city to a certain degree,” Murphy said.

The full CSB+SJU drug policy can be found in the Bennie Book and J-Book under Student Life Policies.