Cannabis at Dillard University

Last verified: April 2026

The University

Dillard University is a private historically Black liberal-arts university with roots dating to 1869 and the Reconstruction-era founding of Straight University (American Missionary Association) and Union Normal School. Through a series of mergers culminating in 1930, these institutions combined to form modern Dillard. The university is jointly affiliated with the United Methodist Church and the United Church of Christ.

The campus, on a 55-acre site in Gentilly bordered by Gentilly Boulevard and the Pontchartrain Expressway, features the famous oak-lined "Avenue of the Oaks" leading to Rosenwald Hall. Total enrollment is approximately 1,200 students, making Dillard among the smaller HBCUs in the country but with a strong traditional liberal-arts identity.

Hurricane Katrina and the Rebuilding

Hurricane Katrina (August 2005) hit Dillard hard. The Gentilly campus was substantially flooded; multiple academic and residential buildings were destroyed or rendered unusable. Two of the iconic Rosenwald-era buildings burned in storm-driven fires. Dillard's enrollment dropped sharply post-Katrina; the university operated for several semesters from a riverboat hotel and later from temporary facilities while the Gentilly campus was rebuilt.

The post-Katrina recovery has been substantial but extended. The campus has been substantially restored; new buildings include the Professional Schools and Sciences Building. Enrollment has stabilized; the university's small but distinguished mission continues. Like the broader Lower Ninth and Gentilly recovery, Dillard's rebuilding has been a multi-year effort with continuing dimensions.

The DFSCA Framework

Dillard is bound by the federal Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act as a condition of federal financial-aid eligibility. The DFSCA-compliant policy:

• Prohibits cannabis (federal Schedule I) on Dillard property
• Applies to all academic, residential, athletic, and parking facilities
• Triggers student-conduct sanctions including possible suspension or expulsion
• Operates within the United Methodist–United Church of Christ religious heritage

State or city law (the §54-507 ordinance, the DA Williams declination, the Louisiana medical-cannabis program) does not change Dillard's on-campus posture.

Dillard Police

Dillard operates a campus security operation called Dillard Police Department. Officers handle on-campus incidents and coordinate with NOPD's 3rd District (Gentilly) for serious matters. Cannabis discoveries on campus are typically handled administratively through Office of Student Conduct rather than via state-law arrest. The DA Williams declination still applies, but on-campus DFSCA enforcement is the primary mechanism.

HBCU Equity Context

Dillard, like Xavier, serves a student population overwhelmingly drawn from communities historically affected by disparate cannabis enforcement. The 7-to-1 Black-to-white pre-2010 New Orleans cannabis-arrest disparity, the comparable patterns in many Southern states, and the broader War-on-Drugs legacy in Black communities are part of the lived background of many Dillard students and their families.

The reform sequence (2010 §54-507, 2016 expansion, 2020 mandatory cite-and-release, 2021 Williams declination) addresses this disparity at the local level. Dillard's institutional cannabis policy operates within the broader HBCU mission of community uplift and educational opportunity, which includes addressing how the criminal-justice system has historically constrained Black educational and professional advancement. Cannabis-related disciplinary history can affect graduate school, professional school, employment, and licensing opportunities — and Dillard's pastoral approach to student-conduct violations reflects awareness of these downstream stakes.

Dillard's Liberal-Arts Identity

Dillard's traditional liberal-arts curriculum — strong programs in nursing, public health, business, education, and the humanities — produces graduates who frequently move into helping professions, education, and community-engaged work. The university's Center for Racial Justice and various community-engagement programs ground students in the broader social-justice and equity context that includes cannabis-policy reform discussions.

Dillard Greek Life and Athletic Programs

Dillard hosts active Divine Nine Greek-life chapters (the historically Black sororities and fraternities) and a Division II athletic program (Gulf Coast Athletic Conference). Greek-life and athletic-program cannabis policies layer with DFSCA in standard ways: chapter-level risk-management restrictions, athletic-conference and NCAA-aligned testing policies (the NCAA reform discussions noted on the UNO page apply to Dillard's NCAA Division II programs as well).

Off-Campus Posture

Dillard students living off-campus in surrounding Gentilly or Mid-City are in NOPD's 3rd District territory. Officer density is moderate-to-low; the §54-507 cite-and-release framework applies; the DA declines simple possession. Operational posture is comparable to other Mid-City and Gentilly residential blocks.

Off-campus encounters that become university-known can trigger DFSCA conduct proceedings.

The Smaller-Campus Dynamic

Dillard's smaller enrollment (~1,200) produces a different campus culture than the larger NOLA universities. Class sizes are smaller, faculty-student relationships closer, and student-conduct issues handled with more individualized attention than at Tulane or UNO. The smaller scale means the university's pastoral approach to violations can be more genuinely individual; the smaller scale also means the cumulative impact of disciplinary actions on a graduating class profile is more visible.

Many Dillard graduates pursue graduate or professional school, including medical school, law school, public-health programs, and education programs. The pre-professional pipeline considerations described on the Xavier page (paper records, disclosure questions on professional-school applications) apply to Dillard students pursuing comparable paths.

Practical Tips for Dillard Students and Families

• On-campus cannabis posture is DFSCA-prohibited. United Methodist–UCC religious heritage shapes pastoral approach to violations.
• Dillard Police handle on-campus incidents. Office of Student Conduct typically processes cannabis violations administratively rather than via state-law arrest.
• Graduate-school and professional-school applications consider disciplinary history. §54-507 summonses create paper records.
• HBCU equity context is relevant: the broader cannabis-policy reform conversation intersects with Dillard's mission and student demographics.
• Off-campus posture is light per NOPD 3rd District. University reach into off-campus violations exists.
• For families: Dillard's small-campus pastoral approach and HBCU mission character shape how the university handles substance-use issues. The supportive framework is real.

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