UI students express their opinions on recent studies showing that marijuana use is increasing on campus, while use of alcohol and other drugs has gone down.
By Wylliam Smith
While alcohol and cigarette use has gone down at the University of Iowa, marijuana use has gone up, according to latest data from the 2016 National College Health Assessment summary.
At the UI, high-risk drinking rates dropped from 64.5 percent in 2011 to 50.9 percent in 2016. Cigarette use dropped from 19.5 percent in 2011 to 13.1 percent in 2016.
On the other hand, the study shows the number of students at UI who smoke marijuana daily increased from 3.2 percent in 2011 to 5.5 percent in 2016.
The Health Assessment is a national survey that evaluates students’ well-being while in college.
While there has been a rise in marijuana use, it isn’t as significant as it sounds, said Tanya Villhauer, the Student Health associate director of education, in an email.
“And of those students who report using more regularly, there was a slight increase from 4.4 percent last year to 5.5 percent this year,” she wrote in the email. “However, this increase is not statistically significant.”
Yet, seeing as marijuana is the only statistic to rise among cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use, the survey does not explain why that is. With that in mind, Villhauer said, the UI administration will continue to monitor the situation as time goes on.
Students, however, may find the marijuana-use statistic to be true from what they’ve seen.
UI freshman Anthony Martinez said that when he came to the university, he knew that this college was seen as a party school.
“I personally don’t smoke [marijuana] anymore; I’ve been sober for a year and a half,” Martinez said. “The experiences I’ve had is, everybody’s stupid when they’re high. Which basically means they cannot function.”
Martinez said the presence of marijuana contributes to what makes UI a party school, but he said marijuana isn’t the only factor because he thinks “every college [student] smokes weed.”
Though the UI can be stereotyped as a party school, the survey revealed that alcohol and cigarette use has gone down.
“When you think about it, 20 bucks is gonna get you high, and that’s a for sure thing,” Martinez said. “But 20 bucks of alcohol may not get you drunk, and it will take longer. So basically, kids just want to get [messed up] faster.”
Hayley Bruce, a writer/editor for the UI University News Services, (and former DI employee) wrote in an email that so far, arrest numbers by the UI police do not indicate there is an increase in the number of students being arrested for marijuana possession.
In 2015, 43 students were arrested on marijuana charges.
So far this year, from Jan. 1 to October, there has only been 19 similar arrests.
“The UI’s residence halls are substance-free environments, and the possession of illegal drugs is prohibited,” Bruce said. “We encourage students to follow the rules, make healthy choices, and seek out the help of alcohol- and drug-education services on campus if they are struggling.”