Though Maine voters chose to legalize recreational marijuana last week, Bowdoin students will not be able to smoke freely, Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster informed students and employees in an email on Monday.
Bowdoin will continue to prohibit students from using marijuana both on and off campus, Foster said. Allowing drugs on campus could jeopardize federal funding for the College, due to the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1988, which bans marijuana and other drugs at colleges and universities.
Bowdoin employees will also continue to be prohibited from consuming or being under the influence of marijuana on campus, in accordance with the College’s Employee Handbook.
The handbook states that any “employee under the influence of illegal drugs or alcohol or who possesses or consumes illegal drugs at Bowdoin is subject to College disciplinary procedures and action, up to and including immediate termination of employment.”
The handbook continues to list marijuana as an illegal drug, based on federal law.
The most recent Orient survey on marijuana use, conducted in 2013, found that 58 percent of respondents had smoked marijuana “at least once to a few times” at Bowdoin, while 31 percent reported smoking “every month or two” or “weekly or more.”
Bowdoin is not the only college having to address marijuana legalization after last week’s elections. Massachusetts voters chose to legalize the drug as well last week, however, none of Bowdoin’s NESCAC peers affected by legalization have publicly announced policy changes. Additionally, the Orient confirmed that students at Amherst, Williams and Colby have not received information about policy changes at those schools. It is unclear whether Bates and Tufts have issued statements to students.
Colleges in Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska have come up with various policies following marijuana legalization, which generally ban on-campus recreational use and vary with regards to off-campus and medical use of marijuana.
There also remains a chance that legalization will not go into effect in Maine. Different ballot counts found the margin in favor of legalization was between 2,620 and 4,402 votes. On Wednesday, opponents of legalization filed for a recount, according to WMTV-Portland.
Maine governor Paul LePage has also said that he will ask President-elect Donald Trump to enforce federal law, which would mean that people who sell or possess marijuana in the state could face federal charges. President Barack Obama has declined to enforce federal marijuana laws in the four states where marijuana became legal during his presidency.