The national discussion on the legalization of marijuana is also taking place on the Dickinson campus.

Pennsylvania is currently moving toward legalizing medical marijuana. The Marijuana Policy Project, a group tracking the status of marijuana legalization across the U.S, noted that the Pennsylvania state Senate has passed a bill to legalize medical marijuana, but it must also pass the state House and be signed by the governor.

Current Gov. Tom Corbett opposes legalization but democrat Tom Wolf, who is leading Corbett in the polls heading into next weeks election, supports the legalization of medical marijuana and decriminalization of non medical marijuana possession according to NBC Philadelphia.
However, Dickinson’s Captain of Law Enforcement Operation Mike Guido says, “The policy on campus is that right now it’s illegal in Pennsylvania to be able to possess, smoke, or in any way be in control of marijuana.”

A sampling of opinions here on campus suggest that many people are either in favor of legalizing marijuana or prefer not to say where they stand.
Guido says he personally believes that legalizing marijuana could make his job much easier. “We spend a lot of time trying to deal with marijuana and I often thought that if they could legalize it and monitor it and take care of it like they did alcohol it might be better to legalize it as far as the community is concerned,” he says.

Philosophy Prof. Crispin Sartwell also supports legalization. “Oh yeah…. No one really has a right to tell other people what to put in their body. I think there are a lot more sophisticated arguments one could make but cutting to the chase that’s why I’m committed there.”

Biology Professor Kristen Gross said that we should, “legalize marijuana, a la Colorado. Regulate, similar to the state liquor store system, and use the proceeds to fund quality day care and K-12 education.” Colorado and Washington are currently the only two states that have
legalized marijuana. According to a Cato Institute study, if all states legalized marijuana sales the reduced drug enforcement costs and higher tax revenues would be worth more than $17 billion.

Some students feel the same way. A junior, who preferred not to give his name, says “I’ll be honest, I smoke weed fairly regularly and I see no reason why it remains illegal when a drug like alcohol is legal. I think alcohol is probably worse.”

Pat Finneran ’18 added that he thought legalization would help boost our economy and add needed jobs.
But Patti Gauthier ’18 disagrees. She says, “I just don’t think it’s a healthy and responsible thing for people to be doing. It’s illegal for a reason.”

When asked if he thought college officials would be upset with his support for marijuana legalization, Sartwell said, “Dickinson may be uncomfortable with some of my political positions but they have been very good about respecting peoples autonomy. I would expect that most of the faculty endorses marijuana legalization so you can’t be upset with any given professor for taking that position.”

Eleven other professors who were asked their opinion on possible legalization of marijuana either chose not to comment or had no opinion.
For more information on Pennsylvania marijuana laws visit http://www.mpp.org/states/pennsylvania/.