Marijuana use among college students nationwide rose 22 percent from 1993 to 1999, according to the Harvard School of Public Health's new study. However, statistics regarding marijuana use at the University do not necessarily reflect this trend.
The data from the Harvard study came from responses to lifestyle surveys of over 14,000 students at 119 colleges in 40 states.
The data showed that national college marijuana use increased from 12.9 percent to 15.7 percent in the six-year span.
Conflicting evidence arises in regard to the applicability of the national statistics to the University.
Marijuana use at the University has decreased by 2 percent between 1997 and 1999, according to Susie Bruce, Director of the Center for Alcohol and Substance Education.
"Looking at the bigger picture, four out of five students are not using marijuana," Bruce said.
The University's data was taken from a survey done by the Department of Psychiatric Medicine.
About 17.8 percent of University students use marijuana, a higher percentage than the 15.7 percent reported in the Harvard study.
The questions on the University's survey "were worded differently, which is one reason why we may not be able to do a correct comparison between the results of the studies," Bruce said.
In 1997, the University Police Department made 14 arrests for marijuana use, and 12 arrests were made in both 1998 and 1999.
"I can't say that [these statistics] mean drug use hasn't gone up," University Police Capt. Michael Coleman said. "We are looking at the number of arrests, which may not reflect the number of users."
Meanwhile, the University Judiciary Committee reports a rise in guilty verdicts in marijuana-related cases. The UJC found two students guilty during the 1992-1993 school year, and last year eight students received guilty verdicts.
The increase in guilty verdicts probably reflects the number of reports filed, UJC Chairwoman Lissa Percopo said.
But Bruce stated that University statistics regarding marijuana use have remained relatively consistent.
"We are always looking at the most current statistics," Bruce said. "The statistics from the past month have shown no big changes"
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