6A
NEWS / TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2011 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
POT (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
Jennifer Wamelink, associate director for residence life, acknowledged a rise in referrals for drug violations. Referrals occur when a Residence Assistant or other housing official "refers" a student believed to be violating a policy to a hearing officer. At a hearing, officials determine whether the student actually violated policy.
"I think we're seeing more marijuana usage." Wamelink said. "I think that is the case and the majority of (drug violations) are going to be marjuana."
wamelink said it is the housing's policy to call the KU Public Safety Office when staff members believe a drug violation is occurring. In 2009, while 238 housing referrals were made for drug violations, only 17 drug-related arrests were made.
Wamelink said the discrepancy
occurs because police and housing have different standards for taking action. Students are also not required to open doors for staff and police cannot typically enter rooms without a warrant.
"You may have some surrounding information about the odor of marijuana and other factors that would make you think drug use is happening," said Wamelink. "That might be enough for us to act on but not for Public Safety."
IS IT REALLY THAT BAD?
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), studies show that most individuals start with marijuana and build up to other illegal drugs.
Tim, who has tried cocaine, said that he did not believe marijuana was a gateway drug and that he did not try other drugs because of marijuana.
The NIDA estimates that nine percent of marijuana users become
addicted. When smoking pot, the heart rate can increase between 20 and 100 percent and the affects can last up to three hours.
Still, Tim views marijuana use as a safer, less destructive alternative to alcohol.
"First off, drinking sucks," Tim said. "People go out and get fucking shiftfaced and they come back and puke their brains out and wake up the next morning and feel like garbage. None of that with pot."
Tom Hall, Kansas City Kansas Community College addiction counseling coordinator, said that when individuals lose jobs or fall behind in school because of marijuana, it's a problem.
"While marijuana is controversial, it's not controversial if you've got a problem," he said.
In student housing, drugs and alcohol are treated differently. Students are placed on probation for the first drug violation, while students are placed on probation after the second alcohol violation.
"Any drug use is always illegal, but not all alcohol use is always illegal," Wamelink said. "Some is just policy, so we do handle sanctions differently."
Tim said that he was content with his marijuana use and that he would keep smoking, at least for the foreseeable future.
"I can maybe imagine a time in the future when I don't do it anymore," he said. "But I like it
Marijuana contains the active ingredient THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol). When smoked, THC is absorbed through the lungs into the bloodstream and to the brain and other organs. Inside the brain, THC affects the following areas:
Where marijuana affects the brain
-Edited by Tali David
and see people who are much older and still doing it. I feel like I could be one of those people."
SMOKING POT MAY CAUSE
- Sense of euphoria
· Paranoia
· Uncontrollable laughter
· Increased appetite
- Impaired coordination, driving skills, or athletic abilities
- Loss of balance
- Poor posture
- Memory loss
- Anxiety