While there has been a lot of discussion by various media outlets about whether the legalization of marijuana has spiked admissions applications to Colorado schools, Colorado officials, university faculty and college students such as myself find the correlation to be highly unlikely.
Sure, the recent legalization of recreational marijuana instills a 1960s-sort of revolution in the minds of today’s counterculture, but the idea that young adults are basing their college career decisions on Colorado’s recent legislation, when Amendment 64 clearly holds the same age restrictions as its alcoholic counterpart, is absolutely absurd.
Furthermore, “smoking weed” is hardly a new phenomenon for college students, especially undergraduates.
While the abundance of the plant is arguably greater here than in other states, it is foolish to presume that students would have a hard time getting their hands on the substance, regardless of their college or university’s location across the U.S.
According to Fox News, “Colorado colleges and universities have seen a dramatic jump in applications, including from out of state, following the legalization of marijuana.”
However, Director of Admissions and Assistant Vice Chancellor of Enrollment Todd Rinehart says that DU admissions haven’t seen a spike in applicants this year as compared to last year.
According to Rinehart, the increase in applicants has been growing at a significant rate far before Amendment 64’s enforcement on January 1, which he attributes to a number of factors.
“We’ve implemented a number of new marketing strategies over the past year,” said Rinehart, “Such as new buildings, enhancing academic programs and the continued reputation we have with the Cherrington Global Scholars Program.”
DU’s External Communications Manager Will Jones confirms that even with the passage of Amendment 64, no changes have been made to DU policy regarding marijuana possession and on-campus usage.
“As a private institution, we do not allow marijuana on campus even if a student or staff member has a medical prescription,” said Jones. “If a student has marijuana on campus, even if they have a medical prescription, they are in violation of the honor code and the Student Conduct process is followed.
This can include probation or other disciplinary measures.”
The university’s stance is far from unpredictable as well as intelligent, if not for the mere fact that DU is a private institution, and it wants to uphold its reputation, especially among those prospective students and their respective families from out-of-state.
According to Rinehart, the perception of many of those from out-of-state is that the culture has dramatically changed in Colorado as of January 1.
“They think people are walking around high, going to class high, driving under the influence … and part of the hype is what they’ve seen on the national news—people standing in a 30-minute-long line to purchase marijuana from one of the vendors.”
One need not roam far to find smoker-friendly businesses around DU’s campus.
Nearby dispensary, Citi-Med, located off East Evans Ave., a few blocks from DU, has seen an influx of customers since January 1, though fellow budtender Chris Nielson says their customer base is a mix of all sorts of demographics.
“It’s hard to identify our customers as DU students,” said Nielson, reaffirming the component of the law that states consumers must be at least 21 years of age to purchase recreational marijuana.
He was also skeptical of there being any way for universities to draw a connection between a spike in applicants to the recent approval and enforcement of Amendment 64.
“School and marijuana shouldn’t be related anyways, and if somebody’s really basing their choice off of that then it’s not a very smart choice,” he said.
Bear Necessities Smoke Shop recently opened its third location off of University Boulevard and East Evans Avenue, and while one must be 18 years of age or older to enter the shop due to the tobacco and marijuana-related paraphernalia products sold in the store, owner Dino Bonacasa says he’s seen an older demographic coming in, which he attributes to the lessening taboo related to smoking since the amendment’s passing.
Though Bonacasa says the shop’s M.O. caters to a younger, college campus crowd, he does not feel there is a connection between the recent legalization of marijuana and possible spikes in college applications.
“I’ve heard of Denver becoming more of a spring break destination due to the law, which makes sense, but I don’t know about college,” he said.
Though DU junior Shelby Amling, marketing major from Denver does find the correlation between Colorado’s recent legalization of marijuana and college applications steadily rising to be a hard one to prove, she says she has no problem believing the recent legalization of marijuana could have some influence on applications to Colorado schools such as DU.
“The social aspect of a town is a big reason for kids choosing schools, and Colorado just seriously increased its social factor,” said Amling.
Amling says she has yet to notice any change among DU students since the recent legalization, however, especially with campus policies still in place.
“Students aren’t walking around smoking joints even though Amendment 64 passed,” she said.
