With the new year, California’s marijuana possession law has changed, but the policy in the Cal State Long Beach dorms remains the same.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Senate bill 1440 in October before it went into effect on Jan. 1.
The new law changed possession of up to an ounce of marijuana from a criminal misdemeanor to a civil infraction, meaning no criminal record as before. The fines remained the same, with up to $100 for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, but the new classification will cut out the trial process.
The governor said he hopes the reduction in court processing will save state money.
However, the change in California’s marijuana possession law won’t affect marijuana regulations in the dorms, said Carol Roberts-Corb, the director of housing at CSULB.
“If a student is caught using, possessing or growing marijuana in the dorms, our judicial process remains the same,” Roberts-Corb said.
If a student is caught with marijuana in the dorms, the campus police are contacted to take care of the legal issue. The student then must enter into the school’s Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs Program, which has three steps. After the first citation for drug violations, the student must attend a three-hour mandatory class.
Although the policy for marijuana possession in the dorms remains the same, campus police will follow the new California law, said University Police Capt. Fernando Solorzano.
“That is a California law that everyone has to follow and, as a law enforcement agency in the state of California, we have to abide by that as well,” Solorzano said.
Roberts-Corb said she is unsure how the new law will affect student conduct on campus, or if it will have any impact at all.
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