System to target campus drug use

Gov. Pat McCrory is engaging with UNC-system leaders to discuss campus substance abuse concerns — but public safety officials say campus crime statistics show no reason for alarm.

Frank Grainger, vice chairman of the UNC-system Board of Governors, met Tuesday with system leaders and McCrory’s administration to begin planning initiatives designed to target drug abuse at universities.

“The bottom line is that it appears that drugs are becoming more and more prevalent on our campuses,” Grainger said at last week’s Board of Governors meeting. “The governor is not messing around with this.”

He said it appears that drug dealers are singling out college campuses in the state because they think students have more money and are easier targets.

McCrory is bringing together various state departments, including the ABC Commission and the Department of Health and Human Services, to focus on enforcing drug laws, providing counseling and treatment and increasing education and awareness about drug addiction.

But several UNC-system public safety officials said they haven’t heard anything directly from McCrory or had any meetings with officials to increase drug control on campus.

Randy Young, spokesman for UNC-CH’s Department of Public Safety, said in an email there is no available data to suggest drug dealers are targeting campus.

He said there are cases where drugs are sold on campus by both students and by people visiting the campus specifically to sell drugs.

According to a UNC-CH DPS security report, from 2009 to 2011, drug-related arrests on campus decreased by 10. There were 31 arrests in 2011. Disciplinary referrals decreased by three in that same time period to just six referrals.

But Young said these numbers are not indicative of how many incidents are occurring.

“We don’t patrol the halls in search of a smell of marijuana unless we have a complaint or there is probable cause,” he said.

He added that after alcohol, marijuana is the most commonly seen drug on campus.

Other system schools like UNC-Greensboro and Appalachian State University have also seen a decline in drug-related incidents.

UNC-G Police Chief James Herring said the campus saw the most misdemeanor charges in 2009 — but from 2009 to 2012, the number of charges decreased by about 250.

He said the number of misdemeanor charges for 2013 will likely continue to decline.

Marijuana is also the most common drug at UNC-G.

ASU Police Chief Gunther Doerr said in an email that there has been a slight decrease in alcohol and other drug violations from 2012 to 2013.

But he said there is no data to suggest drug dealers have been singling out students.

Still, Young said DPS knows of drug usage and warns students to be self-aware.

“One of the first things we tell students when they arrive on campus is to keep your wits about you.”

state@dailytarheel.com