Marijuana use has been legalized in Minnesota: What does it mean for students?
By Mia Timlin
On May 30, 2023, Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill allowing adults in Minnesota over the age of 21 to use cannabis products recreationally. State legislature went on to approve the bill, and the bill gradually progresses what is and isn’t legal when it comes to the selling, buying, use and possession of marijuana.
The immediate effects of this new legislation are that it is no longer illegal to publicly possess 2 or less ounces of cannabis flower, up to 8 grams of cannabis concentrate and edibles with a maximum of 800 milligrams of THC. Additionally, Minnesotans can possess up to 2 pounds of cannabis and a maximum of eight plants at home. As there is currently no licensing in place to allow the legal selling of cannabis products in Minnesota, the first phase of this bill is decriminalization.
Upon this shift in Minnesota law, St. Catherine University convened a committee to discuss how University drug policy will respond to the state-wide changes and clearly emphasize that this new law changes nothing for students over 21 on campus.
“We needed to meet because, as marijuana is legalized in Minnesota now, people are probably going to be confused about what St. Kate’s role was going to play in this,” says Madeline Bjonskaas ‘25 (Political Science/Public Policy/Women’s Studies/Economics), who joined the committee as a student leader representative. “We needed to discuss how we’re going to present the policies.”
Because St. Kate’s is a school that receives federal funding, it must also abide by both the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act, as well as the Drug-Free Workplace Act — under which cannabis is categorized as a Schedule I drug (alongside substances such as heroin and cocaine) and therefore not legalized. It should be noted that University policy does leave room for cannabis use on campus in case of “legitimate medical needs,” and states that students should consult Student Accessibility and Accommodations should they require this accommodation.
Despite this new legal development in Minnesota not having much of an impact on what is or isn’t allowed on campus, Bjonskaas says that it’s important to have ongoing discussions about how policy reflects and relates to the rules and regulations outside of campus.
“Language is important,” Bjonskaas says, emphasizing that even while policy on campus drug use isn’t being changed, major changes to state law can bring up a lot of questions, and conversations need to take place to make the rules as clear as possible.
If something is legal off campus, how should we deal with the effect of students being legally able to do something off campus bleeding into on-campus life? “We talked about, ‘When does the smell of marijuana become destructive to an environment?’ We talked about, ‘How many feet away does the smell have to be to be considered disruptive? ‘Who do you complain to if it is disruptive?’ And, ‘Are you allowed to search students’ rooms if you smell it on them?’”
Bjonskaas says she was a part of this conversation to be a student voice among the ones trying to answer these questions. Beyond this specific committee, she thinks it’s important that students are a part of talking about University policy. For students wanting to lend their voices to these discussions, she offers some advice.
“Students have an opportunity to play a role in school policy just by asking,” she says. “If you have a concern you can bring it up to Student Senate and [they] can direct you to the right people. You can go to different administrators and talk about your concerns about policy.”
And why is it so important? As decisions about campus are being made, who better to consult than the people who know the campus and their fellow students the best?
“No one interacts more with students than students,” Bjonskaas says. “They bring understanding.”
