IUPD maintains reactive stance on marijuana

IU Police patrol residence halls regularly to keep students safe, but officers are quick to react when they find offenders breaking the law.

IUPD officers respond to a variety of calls in the residence halls, including the smell of marijuana escaping through dorm room doors.

IU police insist they do not go out of their way to arrest those caught in the act.

IUPD Capt. Jerry Minger said unlike other communities that take a proactive stance on marijuana, IUPD takes more of a reactive one.

“Undercover officers invest a lot of time and money in cocaine and heroin cases – more serious drugs,” Minger said.

Dave Hannum, an IUPD detective and former undercover officer, handles these cases.
“I have countless cases on my desk,” Hannum said. “They mostly involve pot, pills and some cocaine.”

However, Hannum explained most of these individuals would not have been caught had it not been for them smoking in their dorm rooms.

“Although our stance on marijuana may not be proactive, it is as much of our priority as any illegal activity in the community,” Minger said.

But the majority of offenders are not taken away in handcuffs but rather charged with a misdemeanor – the equivalent of a drinking ticket.

If an individual is caught with 30 grams of marijuana or more, it becomes a Class-D felony, according to the Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office.

Of the 300 felony cases the office has pending, only about 10 are IU students because the majority of students who are caught have less than 30 grams of marijuana in their possession.

Even if a student does have more than the 30-gram limit, prosecutors are sometimes quick to drop the charge to a misdemeanor so the offender can be eligible for pre-trial diversion.

Pre-trial diversions are only associated with misdemeanor offenses, such as illegal possession of alcohol, public intoxication and possession of drug paraphernalia, and this allows offenders to have a second chance.

Of course, this operates on an individual basis. Most likely, these individuals would have no previous criminal offenses.

Minger recalled that marijuana was more prevalent on campus while working with IUPD in the early 1970s.

“It was not uncommon to smell pot in Dunn Meadow while simply walking through,” Minger said.

Minger also said he believes that today’s more health-conscious society is a reason for marijuana’s diminished use.

Hannum explained that usually it is the residence assistant who notifies IUPD if he or she is confident illegal activity is transpiring. Next, IUPD secures a warrant from a judge.

“The warrants are telephonic search warrants,” Hannum said. “On a good day we can secure a warrant in two to five minutes of a call.”

There are instances when the warrant is never served due to a lack of probable cause. However, Hannum said that warrants are obtained more times than not.

“There are times when there is a foul-up in the communication and the judge never returns our call,” Hannum said.

The majority of the time, the officers do find illegal substances in the room once warrants are granted.

“Most of these officers are seasoned,” Hannum said. “They will search the room in a clockwise manner instead of jumping from location to location in a room ... the search process is relatively quick.”

Once drugs are obtained, they are sent to a lab and finally destroyed once the case is finished.

“I am not sure where the drugs are destroyed now,” Hannum said. “They were previously destroyed in an incinerator in Eigenmann Hall and in Bloomington Hospital, as well.”

Officers are willing to give second chances to those who cooperate with police.

“If you are going to make the officer jump through hoops and we find something on you, jail time is very likely,” Hannum said.