Marijuana legalization rolls out across Virginia next month, but universities in the commonwealth aren’t following suit.
Virginia Tech recently updated its student code of conduct to make clear that marijuana is still banned on campus even after July 1, when the state’s new legalization law takes effect.
The Blacksburg school is the first in the commonwealth to revise its code of conduct in response to the legalization.
Other universities across the state, such as James Madison, Radford, Virginia Commonwealth, and The University of Virginia, said they plan to keep marijuana banned on campus too.
Their approach is tied to concerns over a risk of losing federal money if they violate the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act — a law that bans drugs on college campuses and at public schools.
But marijuana policy experts told The Roanoke Times that that threat has never been realized.
At Virginia Tech, penalties for students who violate policy include academic probation, a requirement to write an essay about the incident and a meeting with a drug counselor.
