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Each year, the Princeton Review assembles dozens of different rankings for colleges and universities around America. There are lists of schools with the most generous financial aid, the most impressive lab facilities, and the most accessible professors, as well as rankings for schools with the most jocks or tree-hugging vegetarians.

Another category is Reefer Madness, which lists the schools with the highest on-campus cannabis use.

The fact that such a list exists, even in the face of a federal prohibition on marijuana, is a reminder that college administrations have complex approaches toward cannabis use. While they may firmly adhere to the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act—taking measures to prevent recreational drug use and penalize students for it—the reality of cannabis on campus is much hazier. From coast to coast, school administrations are having a difficult time establishing policies that align with the substance’s legalization in their state.

Nearly half of all states have passed medical cannabis laws. Four states—Washington, Colorado, Oregon, and Alaska—and the District of Columbia have passed social use laws. Making the legal territory even harder to navigate: more than a dozen cities and states have decriminalized cannabis, meaning there is little or no penalty for possessing small amounts of the substance.   

As a result, while campuses officially continue to just say no, students in states with legalization are free to say yes to cannabis off-campus when they’re 21—and a majority of Americans support that option. In the fall of 2012, the impending passage of Initiative 502 sparked discussions on campus at Washington State University, said Melynda Huskey, the school’s dean of students. Huskey began deliberating with on-campus law enforcement, the city police force, and the health director about what legalization would mean for WSU students.

Now that students have returned to campus for the fall semester, some students and parents have asked questions. Generally, they’re pretty easy to field because WSU—and every other campus in the country—has a clear policy: "No cannabis consumption of any kind" on campus and follow the law off campus, Huskey said.

Still, some campus officials say it’s the school’s responsibility to educate students so they make healthy decisions. In states without legalization, if a 21-year-old student were to mention partaking in a cannabis brownie on a Friday night, administrators would likely cover their ears. But on campuses contending with legalization, administrators might remind students about the law, or talk about, say, the potency and effects of edibles.

“I think our drug education is generally more nuanced than ‘just say no,’” Huskey said. “We try to make that sure our messaging is very clear about what students need to know to stay clear of any possible entanglements when they’re on campus. And then in terms of health promotion and legality, make sure that they have access to really good information about the choices that they make once they’re 21 and off campus.”

Before Amendment 64, Colorado’s social-use voter initiative, a student 21 or older in possession of one ounce or less of cannabis on campus at the University of Colorado, Boulder could be cited by law enforcement for possession. Now, students 21 or older in possession of a small amount of pot on campus might just face disciplinary action from the school, according to Ryan Huff, spokesperson for University of Colorado, Boulder.

“You cannot smoke it in public. You cannot possess it in the residence halls. So all the same rules still apply,” Huff said. “I’d say that all that we’ve really done is increase our messaging, just to be clear, especially with out-of-state students. Because I think there’s some misperception that after Amendment 64, anything goes with marijuana.”

But an interesting shift has since occurred at the school: drug violations, including those for marijuana, dropped from 1,145 to 588. One of the reasons for this decrease, according to Christina Gonzales, the university’s dean of students, is that the school has moved away from a disciplinary approach toward a more instructive one.