On September 20, Eastern Michigan University’s board of regents ruled against possession and use of medical marijuana on campus. Faculty and students found under the influence would be, according to this policy, “subject to both prosecution and punishment under federal, state and local laws and to disciplinary proceedings by the university.”
The board understands while the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act of 2008 permits “possession and consumption of limited amounts,” this conflicts with federal law, particularly the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 (and the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act amendment of 1989), which prohibits “controlled substances on campus.”
According to the board, if one is found in violation of the drug policy the university reserves the right to “pursue appropriate disciplinary action, up to and including termination or expulsion.”
Jamie Lowell, director of Third Coast Compassion Center, is not pleased with this outcome. The center was formed in 2009, and in two years Lowell said he has seen lives transformed from the medicinal service
provided to customers.
The average patient, Lowell says, run from their ‘40s to ‘70s. But many people much younger come in to purchase cannabis buds, hybrids or edibles to that might take care of whatever pain is so distracting and unbearable it forces them through the lengthy (typically 6 months ), costly ($150 ) process of getting a doctor’s recommendation note, passing through a rigorous screening process and eventually, if among the lucky, obtaining a Michigan Medical Marijuana card.
Lowell argues young people also get cancer, Crohn’s disease and multiple sclerosis. He said he has encountered young people recovering from car accidents and seen former high school athletes who need this drug to feel better again. He’s seen many, young and old, suffering from chronic pain, muscle spasms, fibromyalgia or arthritis, who, without their medicine, might be at the mercy of a pharmaceutical drug that invites multiple side effects as a rite of usage.
“This is people’s healthcare,” Lowell said. “It’s not an excuse for people to sit around and get stoned. So when Eastern Michigan comes up with this official policy, I have to question whether or not they’re really in touch with what they’re doing. They’re telling a staff member or student to choose between their healthcare and their position at Eastern. They’re not allowed to step in the way of somebody’s right to their medicine.”
