By Sadie Murphy and Anna Childers

During last month’s Open Forum for Vice Presidential candidates, a concerned student made Dr. Gary Morris, later appointed Provost, aware of a bump in the effectiveness of marijuana use policies in the dormitories this year. Though there had been a decrease in the annual number of marijuana offenses in recent years, this year has witnessed a sudden spike in “judicial cases,” a vague descriptor used by the Student Handbook to refer to drugs offenses by students on campus. There is also an increase in complaints about the smell of smoke - both kinds - in the dorm hallways. It has become so annoying that many students compared it to a nest of skunks.

In order to show several sides of the story, we interviewed a self-proclaimed drug dealer, who chose an alias for this interview. Unfortunately, several members of the campus community misunderstood and harrassed a student with the name he had chosen, so we will refer to him as Dealer Q. He admits not only to selling drugs on this campus, but also to using them here with his clients, friends, and fellow students. His highest-selling products are weed and tobacco for students unable to purchase tobacco because of recent legislation raising the legal age. He also admits to selling alcohol and acid. Dealer Q himself has used tobacco, alcohol, weed, and a tab of acid, but admits the most hardcore drugs available to his friends on campus are “cocaine, maybe ecstasy.”

Dealer Q does not believe drug use on campus is an issue, nor does he feel providing drugs to students is wrong: He believes his business has a positive impact on campus life, because it “helps people take the edge off and not stress about what they do.” Dealer Q says he would not feel guilty if a client became addicted to drugs. He believes he should be judged “if you include positive judgement.”

When asked why he chose Glenville, Dealer Q says it was “cheaper than other colleges,” however, after paying tuition, he had a “low monthly budget,” which motivated him to sell drugs for expendable income. He tells The Phoenix his drug sales provide him with a lot of money. He “started with use, and someone offered to buy a supply,” after which he felt a connection with his clients. His supply comes from Morgantown: “A guy brings it in from the city. Honestly, I just text the dude.” For his buyers, weed is relatively cheap at anywhere from $10 – $15 a gram.

And how exactly does he manage to sell drugs on campus without being caught? He says, “I’d say avoid the cameras, but I feel like they’d put up more cameras if I said that [laughs]. Are you writing that down…?”

Freshmen and males make up the majority of Dealer Q clientele; common majors who purchase drugs from him are Physical Education, Criminal Justice, and Psychology majors. We asked what surprises him most about clients. He replied: “Would it be good to say how nervous they are is often funny?” He advises clients to “act natural and open the window,” and recommended his favorite munchies from the Musket to eat when high: “Philly cheesesteaks, chocolate chip cookies, hot tamales candies, and Doritos. Nacho cheese Doritos… And don’t forget to drink water. You’ll choke.”

The nature of drug sales is low stress and laid back on campus despite competition. Dealer Q says selling and doing drugs doesn’t interfere with his schoolwork, and though he can’t do his work just after using drugs, he always finishes it. He would feel “sad and unjust [sic]” if caught. In his free time; he says he is just like everyone else (“but way more laid back”): He enjoys reading and playing video games, and dreams of being happy with what he does, and living well. He would stop selling if he found the right romantic partner.

Is drug use and trafficking prevalent enough on campus to be noticeable? The dealer says: “If you devote more than two brain cells into the effort, you’ll find [drugs].” Even his friends who do not use are aware of Dealer Q drug use, though he is “not at all” one of the biggest dealers on campus. He acknowledges the existence of approximately six dealers besides himself on campus, and they are definitely bigger than he is: “You know in the aquarium when they throw a little fish into the shark tank? I’m the little fish.”

We talked to students to gather public opinions. Abigail Mayle told reporters: “I’m not bothered much by the drugs in the dorms. I’m not a fan of the smell, but I don’t think anybody is.” Caroline* says: “However, the weed smell in the dorms is a lot. I didn’t really notice it that much last year, but this year it’s awful. I got back to campus early this semester and opened the door to the stairwell, and it was there.”

Hunter Williams, a freshman here majoring in Natural Resource Management with a minor in Criminal Justice, had a colorful perspective to offer: “As for smoking weed, I don’t give an [expletive]. You do you, man. If it happens to smell like a skunk, then at least have the courtesy to, like, to cover it up or get rid of the smell or something. I heard third floor is worse, but on fourth, where the double dorms are, it’s the entire hallway, and it gets stronger and stronger and it smells like a family of skunks live down there. I’ve gagged a few times down there.”

Campus counselor Tim Underwood is a specialist on the topic as a Nationally Certified Addictions Counselor. He believes the substance use problem at Glenville State College is “comparable to substance use on any and all college campuses nationwide.” The biannual assessments he conducts substantiate that. As for actual numbers of drugs offense cases on campus, Resident Director of Goodwin Hall Trae Sprague tells us he has recorded 12 cases this year, compared to five cases last year, and six the year before. This year’s numbers are greater than the last two previous years combined.

The school has a set process for handling violations of the drug policy. Underwood receives students referred to him from judicial¹ with substance abuse issues, and he is responsible for the first step in helping individuals overcome their struggles. Most offenses are because of marijuana abuse. Signed releases keep these individuals safe and protected, allowing them to seek guidance in confidence. He was careful and respectful of his client’s privacy during the interview, and he believes “substance use violations are currently being addressed appropriately.”

Underwood’s appropriate address of substance abuse in students is a process called motivational interviewing. “It’s the evidence-based standard by which substance abuse treatment is currently provided. It involves identifying where individuals are in the cycle of change and helping people to increase their own motivation to change their behavior.”

Though many students share Dealer Q's belief that marijuana positively impacts student life by helping overworked minds relax about life stressors, Underwood shared statistics to the contrary. “Those who begin smoking marijuana regularly, two to three times a day prior to the age of 18, statistically have a 10-point IQ drop. It’s never regained. That comes out of a 25-year longitudinal study. The chemical involved in the high has not been shown to have specific medical benefits.”

His biggest concern as a counselor to a campus full of college students look to earn their degrees and lead productive lives is the negative impact drug use can have on student academic achievement. Not only could it affect achievement during their school careers, it can have a “negative impact on possible future job opportunities.” Despite a rumor widely maintained by persons who abuse drugs that marijuana can positively impact mental health (and relax stress), marijuana in particular may not help much, or worse, may add to existing psychological conditions. Underwood says: “In individuals who already have an increased susceptibility to mental health issues, such as anxiety and psychotic disorders like schizophrenia, the THC increases anxiety and paranoia, and is known to cause earlier psychotic breaks and faster progression of schizophrenia.”

The secondhand smoke from marijuana negatively effects the overall health of our campus living environment, filtering under dorm doors into enclosed hallways the harmful chemical THC (tetrahydrocannibinol). “One person for every eight [cigarette] smokers die from secondhand smoke,” says Underwood. “I will tell you that there is not enough research at this point when it comes to marijuana to extrapolate one [tobacco] from the other [marijuana]. I can’t say statistics on nicotine are the same as statistics on weed, but if nicotine can have such an effect on people around, it would lead me to believe that because of the high concentration of THC found [in marijuana] today, secondhand smoke could have an effect.”

Newly hired GSC Provost Doctor Gary Morris, an understated and modest personality who does not like wearing his faculty name tag because his position as Provost can intimidate students, is sympathetic to the problem. When alerted at the open forum, Dr. Morris immediately responded, and planned to follow up on the issue whether he received the position or not.

“It isn’t fair to people in adjacent rooms to be exposed to a drug that they don’t want to be exposed to,” says Morris. He believes empowering students to talk to people about issues like these is an important step in the process of reducing drug usage violations campus-wide. “Students should have people to talk to,” he says. “They should feel free to come talk to me if they need to, or to attend SGA and bring issues like these up. Students should feel empowered to speak up and say: ‘This is an issue,’ so we can address it.”

Morris says that though the Provost isn’t directly involved in the process, Academic Affairs has touched base with judicial over the years to better address issues like these. “They are bringing me into judicial more going forward; not to interfere, just to have oversight over it. Predominantly, it will be from a reporting perspective. Right now reports are going from Title IX, from judicial – going to a different area on campus, and we would like to have them all come to a centralized place on campus. Reorganization: That’s where we’re headed.” He mentions the faulty expectation of the campus community at large that the school’s administration is omnipotent. “Really, we’re not. I spend most of my time in meetings and my office, so unless someone brings something up, I may not be aware of it.” He acknowledges his distaste for social media might keep him somewhat removed from casual dialogue about campus affairs, and suggests old-fashioned face-to-face talks as the best and most effective way for such conversations to be conducted.

As to the noticeable reduction in the marijuana smell after his attention was brought to the matter, Morris says: “What happened was I had a conversation with people in that area, made them aware that this was a concern, and asked that they look into it. The rest went from there, so they get a lot of credit for this, too. It was very good teamwork. People listened; people were responsive.”

In all this, Morris remains empathetic to students’ individual right to privacy. “We have to be mindful of individuals’ rights. As long as we are not steering away from that, based on what’s appropriate to the situation, I’m in favor of us supporting and enforcing. I think if there is a good reason to go into another space, based on evidence, they should go in.” And: “I think it’s dangerous to have broad generalizations. You get in trouble with individual rights.”

No lateral decisions are made by the system that addresses substance abuse cases. Morris says that: “decisions are made through consultation with each other – trying to get facts, trying to understand what’s happening, and looking at the best interests of students. A lot of effort goes into trying to figure out what’s going on with a student, what led to the situation; has it happened before, what was done the last time, what was the impact of what was done last time. There seems to be extensive dialogue with everyone involved.” However: “You have to think about everyone else on campus. There has to be some consequence. If you have given [the student] a chance and you have worked on educating and helping them, at some point they have to be accountable for what they’ve done.”

A definite advocate for “developing avenues for students, faculty, and staff to have conversations,” Morris applauded that Phoenix reporters “don’t find it a constraint to express their views.” He hopes it’s contagious.

¹Attempts to identify exactly who/what body of persons comprises “judicial” were unsuccessful.

* represents students who wish to keep their identity private. The alias of Dealer Q had to be changed after initial publication because an unrelated person with the original name was harrassed by people assuming he was the dealer.

Editor's note: Although we were unable to reach Public Safety Chief Ron Taylor, we are planning a follow-up story about enforcement efforts soon.