During college years, students experiment with lots of things new relationships, organizations, athletics and sometimes drugs.

Residence halls of Missouri Southern have faced a few cases of marijuana use on campus.

“There always has been a certain percentage of students who smoke marijuana on campus,” said Ken Kennedy manager of the department of public safety. “I think anytime people are allowed to bring drugs on campus, it makes people feel a little less safe.”

Doug Carnahan, dean of students, said marijuana cases on campus are treated seriously and disciplinary action is always taken.

He said he deals with nearly a dozen cases each year of drug violations on campus.

“If it’s a situation where we don’t find drugs, we try to handle that informally, give the students a warning and most of the time we never hear from those students again,” Carnahan said.

Carnahan said he even occasionally hears reports from the faculty about certain students suspected of showing up to class high.

Because of the ventilation system in the dorms, Carnahan said it makes it easy to find marijuana.

“We will operate on smell,” Carnahan said. “If we smell marijuana, we’ll move in on that.”

Carnahan said the majority of the cases reported are through friends or roommates of those involved.

Joe Howard, department of public safety officer, said the most recent case he has dealt with was a call alleging another student to be smoking marijuana in his car. Howard said once he showed up there was a smell, but no marijuana. He said sometimes many calls are made about students having drugs in their rooms, and when he shows up, it does not exist.

“But that’s a good thing,” Howard said. “We’d rather have that happen.”

He said in recent cases the students he has had to confront have been extremely cooperative, but there have been times when some have not been so willing.

“I remember this one deal last year where we had like four guys in the a room, and it smelled of marijuana,” Howard said. “They refused to come out of the bathroom, locked the door and flushed it down the stool.”

He said to keep a close eye on what goes on, he usually waits until the campus has calmed down for the day.

“I was a policemen for 20 years so I like to drive around when the lots aren’t open,” Howard said. “When the lot is vacant you can look for drug paraphernalia.”

Adam Griffin director of student housing, said in his time at Southern he has dealt with eight marijuana cases.

“Working with our public safety and security office, we’ve planted a policy where anytime we find drugs, no matter how big or small the amount we are mandated to call JPD,” Griffin said. “Once it’s found, it’s really off our hands.”

Once law officials are contacted, the students involved receive a citation.

Griffin said with marijuana he is most concerned about peer pressure.

“As a campus I have to look at the overall,” Griffin said. “If it’s here there’s a chance they talk the other students into it.”

Griffin said he hopes students take advantage of activities such as Natural High Week that provide students with other options other than engaging in drug use.

Some students do not see marijuana use as a major issue on campus.

A student who chose to go by Tyrone Jenkins said he believes allowing students to smoke marijuana on campus could do more good than harm, saying he thinks some of the greatest people in the world smoked marijuana.

Michael Lang, freshman criminal justice administration major, said marijuana use on campus does not bother him, and he believes students can do a lot worse than smoke marijuana.

“I think it shouldn’t be any severe consequences,” Lang said. “If they are smoking crack, that’s a totally different subject.”

Lang said since students have reached a level of higher education, they are probably not likely to do anything self-destructive, and marijuana use is more for the students’ benefit.

“Basically marijuana is a relaxing drug,” Lang said. “Some people use it to go to sleep, some people use it to mellow them down because of all the stress going around with finals.”

Howard said the security office will continue to do their best to protect students.

“We don’t put up with illegal drugs, we don’t put up with weapons, and we don’t put up with racial discrimination,” he said.