An ambitious group of Arizona veterans at the University of Arizona are fighting to change policy at the state-level in order to allow patients the ability to use medical marijuana on campus without disciplinary action.
“The University of Arizona has not been a fan of the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, and their campus police department is ready to start arresting medical patients who possess, or consume cannabis while on campus,” reads a petition the group has filed with Change.org.
Although Arizona legalized medical marijuana back in 2010, a separate state law, passed two years later, makes marijuana possession a felony offense on university campuses. This means students with a doctor’s permission to use medical marijuana could be thrown to the wolves of the criminal justice system for simply having this legal medicine.
Dan Schmink, an Army veteran who fought in Iraq, who also operates a business that assists other veterans in adapting to post military life, says many of the men and women he works with cannot function properly without the use of medical marijuana.
But instead of being allowed to use this legal medicine, a lot of these people are forced to self medicate with dangerous anxiety and pain medications, just to get through their studies.
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“People truly don’t understand us. They don’t understand why we don’t want pills,” Schmink told KPNX-TV. “I do know there are veterans that rely on cannabis every single day to get through their classes so they can get that degree.”
An ongoing court case involving an ASU student convicted of marijuana possession could eventually lead to the campus ban being overturned. But that all depends on the outcome of the appeal, which suggests the policy is “unconstitutional” because medical marijuana is voter approved.
For now, ASU is not giving in.
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“Marijuana on campus is prohibited by state law and by federal laws,” ASU’s Police Department said in a statement. “Students who commit violations of the Student Code of Conduct that involve marijuana are guided to substance abuse resources. They may be subject to disciplinary action, ranging from probation to expulsion.”
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