Skidmore College met with law enforcement leaders Thursday to discuss the school's response to reports of a large group of students smoking marijuana on campus last week.
The number of people smoking pot depends who you ask. Students say there were about 100 of them smoking outside on the campus on April 20. District Attorney Jim Murphy says it was more like a couple dozen or so.
You won't find it on your calendar, but April 20, "4/20," is a counterculture holiday where people, especially college students, gather to smoke pot.
That was the case last week at Skidmore. Students sparked up in public, on campus, where it's become an annual event.
"We anticipated there might be a gathering," said Dean of Student Affairs Rochelle Calhoun. "So we had uniformed officers visible and patrolling throughout the day."
But no one was arrested, which surprised some students.
"They were stymied by students who saw them coming, heard they were coming or texted they were coming," Murphy said.
Students gathered near the pond. Some of them had tents set up, which the district attorney says presents even more challenges for law enforcement. Murphy says when students got a whiff that campus safety was coming, they'd go in the tents where officers couldn't enter without a search warrant.
The fact no one was cited ruffled some feathers in the community. So Murphy met with the college and local and state police Thursday and all promise to approach it differently next year.
"It's been going on for years and they really haven't done anything about it yet," Skidmore Student Deven Bussey said. "So that's definitely just a reaction and I think it's an unnecessary one."
The district attorney says even if arrests were made for possession of a small amount of marijuana, the law says the charges are likely to go up in smoke.
'So there is no consequence to the possession of a small amount of marijuana. That's been decided, not by me, but by the New York State Legislature," Murphy said.
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: WNYT.com
Author: Mark Mulholland
Contact: WNYT.com
Copyright: 2009 WNYT-TV, LLC
Website: Law Enforcement, Skidmore Discuss Pot on Campus
The number of people smoking pot depends who you ask. Students say there were about 100 of them smoking outside on the campus on April 20. District Attorney Jim Murphy says it was more like a couple dozen or so.
You won't find it on your calendar, but April 20, "4/20," is a counterculture holiday where people, especially college students, gather to smoke pot.
That was the case last week at Skidmore. Students sparked up in public, on campus, where it's become an annual event.
"We anticipated there might be a gathering," said Dean of Student Affairs Rochelle Calhoun. "So we had uniformed officers visible and patrolling throughout the day."
But no one was arrested, which surprised some students.
"They were stymied by students who saw them coming, heard they were coming or texted they were coming," Murphy said.
Students gathered near the pond. Some of them had tents set up, which the district attorney says presents even more challenges for law enforcement. Murphy says when students got a whiff that campus safety was coming, they'd go in the tents where officers couldn't enter without a search warrant.
The fact no one was cited ruffled some feathers in the community. So Murphy met with the college and local and state police Thursday and all promise to approach it differently next year.
"It's been going on for years and they really haven't done anything about it yet," Skidmore Student Deven Bussey said. "So that's definitely just a reaction and I think it's an unnecessary one."
The district attorney says even if arrests were made for possession of a small amount of marijuana, the law says the charges are likely to go up in smoke.
'So there is no consequence to the possession of a small amount of marijuana. That's been decided, not by me, but by the New York State Legislature," Murphy said.
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: WNYT.com
Author: Mark Mulholland
Contact: WNYT.com
Copyright: 2009 WNYT-TV, LLC
Website: Law Enforcement, Skidmore Discuss Pot on Campus
