On Nov. 8, California voters passed Proposition 64, immediately legalizing the recreational use of marijuana for people over the age of 21. Adults over 21 may also own up to six marijuana plants.
With this shift from being illegal for anyone to possess to something like alcohol, where you need to be 21 to purchase and use it, there is a question of whether Carmel High School policies will change regarding the substance.
“If you possess or are under the influence of any drug or alcohol then it’s an automatic suspension,” assistant principal Craig Tuana says about the school’s policies regarding drugs. “If you deal or sell, it’s an automatic suspension.”
In the CHS student handbook, tobacco is noted as a lighter sentence that could get students a couple days of detention or suspension, if it’s not a repeated offence. Even with the recent legalization of marijuana, Tuana does not expect these punishments to change. According to the assistant principal, it’s just like bringing alcohol on campus: it may be legal, but it’s still illegal for students to possess it on campus.
Medicinal marijuana, on the other hand, has yet to be addressed in school and still remains a gray area for administration.
“If you got a prescription to use it, which I have not seen yet nor would I expect necessarily to see, that would go through our nurse’s office,” remarks Tuana on the subject. “No one is allowed to walk around with prescription drugs.”
Even though marijuana is legal in the state, it’s still not allowed on campus. Punishments regarding drugs and alcohol will remain the same.
-Archer Michaels
