BYU Honor Code and the Deseret News

Last verified: April 2026

The BYU Honor Code

Brigham Young University’s Honor Code — first naming marijuana in the 1970 catalog — explicitly requires students, faculty, and staff to:

Abstain from alcoholic beverages, tobacco, tea, coffee, vaping, marijuana, and other substance abuse.

BYU Honor Code, Church Educational System Honor Code, current text

There is no medical-use exception in the Honor Code text. Medical accommodations are handled case-by-case at administrative discretion. The applicable office is:

• Honor Code Office, 4450 Wilkinson Student Center, Provo UT 84602
• Phone: 801-422-2847

BYU’s separate Drug-Free School Policy authorizes “dismissal from the university or termination of employment” for any violation of federal, state, or local drug law. A Utah medical card does not change the analysis — the Honor Code applies regardless.

The Deseret News and KSL

The Deseret News (newspaper) and KSL (broadcast TV and radio) are owned by Deseret Management Corporation (DMC), a for-profit holding company wholly owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The editorial track record on cannabis:

• Skeptical of Proposition 2 in the 2018 ballot run-up.
• Supportive of the Compromise — HB 3001’s pharmacy-and-pharmacist model maps directly to the Church’s §38.7.9 framework.
• As of 2025, calling for “keeping the program medical” while warning about diversion to illicit markets and skepticism toward recreational legalization.

The Salt Lake Tribune

The Salt Lake Tribune is independent of the Church. It has consistently provided the most critical coverage of Church lobbying on cannabis policy — including the most thorough reporting on the Kirton McConkie memo, the October 4, 2018 negotiation, and the 2025 lobbying against HB 203’s most ambitious expansions. The Tribune’s January 2021 count remains the canonical source for the 89-of-104 LDS-legislator figure.

The Other Utah Universities

BYU is the most cited because of its Church affiliation and explicit Honor Code language, but every Utah university operates under similar restrictions for a different reason: federal compliance.

University of Utah

U of U Policy 5-113 (Drug-Free Workplace) and 5-114 (Drug Testing for Health Sciences clinical roles) prohibit cannabis on campus. Federal research funding and federal financial-aid compliance both require Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act conformance. Cannabis is prohibited campus-wide regardless of Utah card status.

Utah State, Weber State, UVU, SUU

• Utah State University (Logan)
• Weber State University (Ogden)
• Utah Valley University (Orem) — ~45,000 students, the largest in the state
• Southern Utah University (Cedar City)

All carry the same federal-compliance posture as the U. The Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act applies to any institution receiving federal funds. None permit on-campus cannabis use even with a valid Utah medical card.

The Title IV Trap

Title IV financial aid creates an absolute bar to on-campus cannabis even with a medical card. A felony drug conviction can suspend Pell Grant eligibility (the FAFSA question on drug convictions was substantially narrowed by the FAFSA Simplification Act, but state drug-conviction consequences for state-aid recipients can persist). For working-class students dependent on federal aid — the majority at most Utah public universities — the practical effect of federal-compliance policy is that medical cannabis use must happen entirely off-campus, and storage of any cannabis product in campus housing creates Title IV exposure.

The Practical Picture

For a Utah cardholder enrolled at any of these institutions, the rules are uniform regardless of which campus they’re on:

• No on-campus possession.
• No on-campus consumption (including in dorms or married-student housing).
• No on-campus storage.
• BYU specifically: any consumption, anywhere, is an Honor Code violation.

For a BYU student in particular, the medical card does not reduce risk — it simply ensures Utah-state legality of off-campus possession. Honor Code consequences apply to legal medical use exactly as they apply to recreational use.

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Official Sources

• BYU University Policies
• Deseret News
• Salt Lake Tribune
• Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act