But even if the state legalizes pot, students may want to think twice before toking up on campus.
Schools must still ban any use of cannabis â even medical marijuana â on college grounds, in keeping with federal laws like the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1989. That dynamic means students who may not be doing anything the state finds illegal could still be punished by a state agency.
âThat was the real fear with a lot of these students, what the school was going to do with them, versus whether the legal system would handle it or not,â Brad McConnell, a Blacksburg-based defense attorney, said about drug cases in recent years. âI used to tell these parents down here that would call me, âHey, you need to be calling the administration.â Itâs really overly punitive. Youâve got a kid caught with three or four grams of marijuana getting suspended from school when itâs being taken under advisement by the court.â