Whether they end up in the dark and semi-secluded foliage of Sanford Woodlot, a relatively hidden spot near the banks of the Red Cedar River, or in an acquaintance’s off-campus residence, Schmitt, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, and his friends usually feel safe as they smoke marijuana together to relax and unwind.

“We’re pretty smart about it,” Schmitt said. “I personally have never been in a situation where I was scared I’d get caught.”

Although Schmitt said he or any of his close friends never have been caught using or possessing marijuana by law enforcement, some MSU students and East Lansing residents have not been as lucky.

Both MSU and East Lansing police departments have seen slight increases in marijuana arrests throughout the past few years. Officials from both entities said they are not too alarmed by these numbers, but whether it be through calls, tips, traffic stops or officer-initiated patrols, officers continue to notice marijuana when it’s near and catch those in offense.

By the numbers
According to arrest records from both the MSU and the East Lansing police departments, documented arrests for marijuana use and possession have gone up since 2009.

East Lansing police records indicate 112 marijuana possession arrests were made in 2011, an increase from the 82 recorded in 2009.

According to the MSU Police Department’s 2010 Annual Report, drug violation misdemeanors increased about 11 percent from 2009 to 2010. An official count for 2011 has not yet been determined, but MSU police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor said the number has increased again.

McGlothian-Taylor said the number of arrests made by MSU Police regarding drug violations were generally less frequent than theft reports, minors in possession and drinking and driving charges. She said the number of marijuana and drug-related arrests often vary from year to year and can cycle up and down depending on who gets caught.

“It comes in waves,” McGlothian-Taylor said.

Schmitt said he would imagine that the number of arrests do not accurately reflect the number of people who actually smoke on campus. He also believes police could be spending their time and resources on more abrasive crimes.

“I would tend to say the number of people who smoke is a lot larger than the number of people who get arrested,” Schmitt said. “But there are a lot more things that endanger the community, such as drinking and driving.”

Compared to other arrests documented within East Lansing’s city limits, such as drinking and driving or minor in possession charges, the East Lansing police do not see marijuana as too large of a problem, East Lansing police Capt. Kim Johnson said.

“From a day-to-day standpoint … it hasn’t been much of an issue in our city,” Johnson said. “We come in contact with it, we deal with it, but we don’t see any alarming numbers.”

Enforcing the law
Many of the marijuana-related arrests and citations made by police on campus occur during traffic stops or on complaint calls about the smell of marijuana, McGlothian-Taylor said.

Complaint calls are a little less frequent from a city perspective, because a smell is oftentimes less noticeable if a person is smoking in a house or apartment, Johnson said. He said officer-initiated arrests and traffic stops are the usual way for police to catch someone with marijuana.

For those caught with an amount of marijuana consistent with use or possession for the first time, charges sometimes are less harsh, Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings said.

In both MSU and East Lansing, students often are given an option to go through probation, drug treatments and are given a fine if they are caught with marijuana as their first offense, Dunnings said.

First offenders in East Lansing face $383 dollars in fines and must complete 24 hours of community service as well as a marijuana intervention class, Assistant City Attorney Erin Housefield said.

As part of their probation, those caught can be subject to random urine screenings, Housefield said.

If someone is caught more than once, Dunnings said the punishment likely will be more extensive, but it varies case by case.

“We try to look at each case individually, just like each person’s an individual,” Dunnings said.

The stigma and punishments surrounding marijuana use are baffling to sophomore Samantha White, a marijuana user whose name has been changed to protect her identity.

She sees marijuana as a less harmful substance than other drugs and legal substances, such as alcohol or cigarettes.

“I just can’t believe how bad everyone thinks it is — I don’t understand it, to be honest,” White said. “I’m completely functional, and I smoke.”

Marijuana on campus
Biochemistry and molecular biology freshman Laura Cheaney has never smoked, and she said she doesn’t mind if other students choose to.

What she can’t stand, though, is the sometimes overpowering smell that comes from students smoking marijuana in their dorms.

“If I can go to my room and get away from it, I don’t mind as much, but when I can still smell it in my room I get a little annoyed,” Cheaney said. “I don’t notice it all the time, but on the weekends it can get bad.”

Although Cheaney has never called her resident mentor or the MSU Police Department to report a student for smoking in her residence hall, she said she does not believe the issue is acknowledged as much as it should by university staff.

“I just feel it’s not handled very well,” Cheaney said. “People just don’t seem to care.”

When White lived in on-campus housing, she smoked in her dorm regularly.

White said she often would open her windows and try to make the scent of the marijuana as unnoticeable as possible. She continues to be as courteous as possible in her off-campus home, as she lives with two nonsmokers.

Although initially she was afraid when she started to smoke in the dorms, White said she eventually got over her fears.

“After a while it seemed okay because nothing had happened,” White said.