Marijuana use among college students is nothing new, and local law enforcement officials are working to curb its popularity.

Jerry Stewart, associate director of the Department of Public Safety, said DPS handles all marijuana incidents in the residence halls.

“Typically our office receives a phone call concerning a suspicious odor or other suspicious activity,” Stewart said. “We will then dispatch officers to the room, and they will deal with the situation.”

Stewart said many of the calls do not result in arrests.

“Some will result in charges, but others are attributed to incense or other things,” he said. “If there’s generally a lack of evidence or all or nearly all of the marijuana has been smoked, there is rarely an arrest.”

Stewart said officers are careful not to infringe on the rights of the students when searching rooms.

“We find most people are cooperative when our officers ask to enter the room,” he said. “In cases where students aren’t [cooperative], we have to establish probable cause to search the room.”

Stewart said search warrants sometimes are issued on student rooms.

“To get a warrant, there must be an establishment of probable cause,” he said. “Odor alone is not enough for probable cause.”

Past incidents involving the same room also do not necessarily warrant probable cause, Stewart said.

Sgt. Randall Kessel, public information director for the Ames Police Department, said the department deals with marijuana cases in non-residence hall housing.

“We certainly investigate everything,” Kessel said. “We knock and announce ourselves and then nine times out of 10, we are invited in.”

Kessel said when invited into a house or apartment, police officers often catch offenders in the act.

“Lots of times you’ll come in, and there’ll be somebody on the couch just smoking marijuana right in front of you,” he said.

Kessel said when officers are not invited to come in, they ask for consent to enter and search the premises.

When residents will not consent to a search, Kessel said officers need the same type of probable cause for a warrant to enter as DPS requires.

“We would have to see something, not just smell it,” Kessel said. “But people are pretty honest with us. When marijuana smoke is rolling out the door, what else can they do?”

Kessel said the Ames Police Department follows Story County’s strict policy involving controlled substances.

“We have a no-tolerance county,” he said. “There is no set amount of marijuana that you cannot be arrested for. If we come up with anything, we make an arrest.”

Although the Ames Police Department deals with off-campus housing cases, Kessel said the majority of their drug-related arrests occur when they are investigating something else.

“The biggest thing is not so much the complaint of the smell at a house or apartment,” he said, “it’s usually on a traffic stop or an [pperating while intoxicated] when someone is in the car and smoking marijuana.”

Kessel also pointed out that a large majority of Ames Police marijuana arrests are concerning small amounts of the substance.

“It’s usually just a small baggie,” he said, “enough for the person’s personal use. Nine times out of 10, it is not an arrest for a bulk amount.”

Beyond the arrest, DPS attempts to get repeat drug users to seek treatment.

“We make a number of referrals to the Student Counseling Center,” Stewart said.

Jeanne Burkhart, head of substance abuse services with the Student Counseling Center, said marijuana is the most prominent drug use problem the counseling center faces.

“The first thing we’re going to do is an assessment evaluation to see if there is a problem with addiction,” Burkhart said.

She said the counseling center often also helps students deal with the stress of working through their problems on the legal front.

Jim Scheetz, assistant attorney in charge of narcotics cases at the Story County attorney’s office, said the legal ramifications of a possession of marijuana charge are often different.

He said possession of marijuana has a tiered penalty system, due to legislation enacted on July 1 of last year.

In a first offense case, the maximum penalty is six months in prison and up to a $1,000 fine. In a second offense case, the maximum penalty is one year in prison and a $1,500 fine. In a third offense case, the maximum penalty is two years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Also, if the amount of marijuana seized is more than one ounce, the charge moves from a serious misdemeanor to a felony.

“A more typical penalty in a first offense case would be a $250 fine and a couple days in the county jail,” he said.