Changing pot laws, particularly in Colorado, are sparking discussions among educational professionals as schools scramble to keep ahead of a fluid cultural shift. Sure, it’s been around college life forever, but does legalized marijuana change dynamics of consumption, image, and other aspects of a college community?
How regulated are Colorado marijuana dispensaries? How easy is it to legally buy if you are not 21? Are colleges in these states experiencing more instances of drug-related “incidents”? And how is changing pot culture affecting schools in these states on the leading edge of legalization?
A recent seminar sponsored by the Independent Educational Consultants Association shed light on some of these questions. It was led by a panel of Coloradans in education who are grappling with just such questions.
The state of Colorado effectively legalized marijuana in 2012 and began opening pot shops in January 2014. Now pot dispensaries dot Denver, Boulder and other cities. It can be jarring to the out-of-state eye, for sure, says University of Denver student life director Carl Johnson. Three dispensaries sit within a few blocks of the DU campus, for example. But university policy remains as it has been. Marijuana is not allowed on campus. As with alcohol, those 21 and over are free to imbibe as they see fit as long as they don’t do it on campus. They have not seen an increase in drug usage and cite data to show what they mean.
Johnson points to 168, 147, and 102 (so far this year) cases of pot violations at DU over the past three years. And in the last survey done of applicants to DU, only 5% answered “more likely” or “much more likely” to attend because of the passage of Proposition 64. Eighty-five percent said legalized pot had no effect on their decision to apply or attend DU. “Frankly, what keeps us up at night is not pot; it’s alcohol,” says Johnson. He also emphasizes that pot is taxed at a 28% rate and because of the overall cost, believes that students are much more likely to acquire marijuana through the old-fashioned channels rather than through visiting a dispensary—where ID laws are also strictly enforced.
In Colorado Springs, an extremely conservative pocket of the state, Kia McCann of the Fountain Valley School (a boarding school) notes that there are no non-medical dispensaries. That has not stopped Colorado College (located in Colorado Springs, along with the U.S. Air Force Academy) from topping Princeton’s Review’s list of top pot-smoking schools (more on the list later). McCann notes that administrators at Fountain Valley have discussed with how legalization has produced products that no longer come in an unmarked plastic bag. A concern, she says, is “The amount of forms the drug is available in, particularly edibles. The unfortunate part about moving into the edible world is this whole stream seems to be marketing to a younger audience. The ability to self-medicate with these new forms, because smoking actually is a better way than not in terms of edibles, vapor and zapping, are very hard to determine the level to which you are ingesting.”
At CU-Boulder, where the annual “4/20” campus “smoke-out” is legendary, applications increased by 33 percent last year. But admissions officials credited the spike to CU’s joining the Common App, making it easier to apply.
Andrew Bryan is an independent educational consultant in the Denver area, and is thoughtful in his assessment when it comes to helping students build a college list, and comes at it with an open mind. “I don’t try to avoid Washington, Oregon or Colorado. I’ve had people call me about Evergreen State [in Washington] and that reputation goes back a long time…Boulder and Eugene [Oregon] have always had those reputations but I’m looking to get past that part of the conversation to how we’re going to build the list; go through an application process and begin to look at the types of support a student will need as they go through that type of transition.”
For parents with concerns about Colorado and legalization, DU’s Johnson recommends that parents visit a pot shop when in Colorado. Ask about products, potencies and effects.
Whatever state your student chooses for college or university, it’s useful to have clear discussions about behavior and to check in frequently. And check out that newest top-20 pot list (more than half the schools are in the East).