Aiden Lutjen, staff writer

Meet my anonymous source — we’ll call her “N” for privacy — a student here at Augsburg like all of us, with a major, a future, hobbies, friends, a dorm — all of that. Like everyone, she also has her own personal issues. One such issue is treated medically with a drug that many other people use for the same or different medical reasons. This drug that treats various illnesses and disorders is legal in most states for use, including Minnesota. It can be taken various ways and is well known for its often calming effects. And on top of all that, the drug itself is not dangerous. If you guessed marijuana, congratulations — you’re correct!

Medical marijuana is not rare anymore, and more and more people are using its medicinal benefits to treat a variety of conditions — from chronic pain to epilepsy to anxiety disorders. Sometimes marijuana is the only medication that works for someone’s condition. I doubt it’s news to anyone reading this that some people need medication to live, so I hope it’s not too much of a surprise that marijuana is included when it comes to that.

N is prescribed marijuana by her psychiatrist to treat her symptoms, giving her a quality of life she wouldn’t have otherwise because of her condition’s symptoms. It’s a medication being used 100% legally for its intended purpose — not just because. But not everyone is so understanding.

Augsburg’s Department of Public Safety seemingly ignored N’s authentic medical marijuana card one night when someone reported her for using her medication in her dorm. DPS proceeded to tell her she was committing a federal crime despite her attempts to explain and prove she was using it legally. N and I both understand the rule against smoking in the dorms — that’s understandable. What isn’t, however, is the aggressive and accustational way DPS addressed N. Instead of listening and understanding to her, she was met with nothing but a lack of sympathy and no consideration. Let’s also note that, from what we have seen, this prohibition on medical marijuana isn’t stated anywhere for students to see — at least easily — so I guess we’re left to find out the hard way.

N and DPS met later and reached a compromise that allowed her to continue taking her medication safely while keeping the smoking off-campus, but this isn’t the end. Just a couple days ago, N received an email that she had to meet with the dean of students because she came back to campus smelling — yes, just smelling — of marijuana. Not long after, she received a threat to be removed from the student program she’s a part of. I’m sure you’ll be just as happy as I was to hear that the dean was much more kind to and considerate of N than DPS, and they were able to come to another compromise with no consequences to her. N was thankfully able to walk away from this meeting with at least some peace-of-mind and the ability to continue her education while still taking care of herself.

This is just one example of a broader trend: DPS is way out-of-line on a variety of issues concerning the students here at Augsburg, so the widespread distrust of DPS shouldn’t be very surprising. They are inconsistent and lack the sympathy required to evaluate students’ situations and address them appropriately, not to mention they don’t seem to consider even prescription medication as a legitimate reason for a student’s use of a controlled substance — at the end of the day resorting to threats to enforce rules. At the very least, we should expect them to apply the same standards as other medications that are also controlled substances, but I want to know why we can’t peacefully listen to each other and have an actual discussion about campus needs and rules instead of resorting to threats. So, DPS — what’s up over there?