Local police contend student marijuana use is significantly higher than the annually low number of marijuana-related arrests made by the State College Police Department and University Police Services.

"People are more secretive when it comes to dealing with drugs," State College Police Cpl. James Stuller said. "We're only as good as the information we get."

That information allowed State College police to arrest 25 people in 1993 for possession, sale or manufacture of marijuana. Statistics recently published by University police show they conducted 43 marijuana related arrests last year.

Dwight Smith, a University police supervisor, said those low arrest numbers do not accurately reflect how many students use the drug on campus.

"I think that the people who are into that kind of culture are pretty well educated as to what the laws are and how they can best not become a statistic," he said.

Tom Gebbie (senior-geosciences) said he was surprised at the low annual numbers of marijuana arrests made by local police. Officers may need to refocus their efforts, he said.

"People smoking pot -- I don't see that as much the problem as the illegal industry they support," he said.

Gebbie said he would like to see police crack down on marijuana sellers because that could reduce overall statistics of illegal use. More undercover police efforts could be effective, he said.

Smith said marijuana is not the strongest force police must battle locally, and officers try to keep that in perspective.

"We don't look at it as being as pervasive or having as much of an impact as alcohol," he said.

But Smith and Stuller said marijuana is still a concern for police because it is illegal. a lack of solid evidence makes it difficult for police to apprehend offenders who use or sell the drug, they said.

For now, Smith said marijuana most likely will not encourage problems of the same caliber that alcohol fosters.

"You don't see that in a college community -- the crime and all the bad things attributed to drug use and abuse that you do in major urban areas," he said.

But Smith cautioned that harder drugs such as cocaine or crack may soon play a bigger role in the University community. In the past, police have responded to isolated incidents involving those drugs, he said.

"We're not immune to what's going on in the rest of the world," he said.

Shani Neal, vice president of the Penn State National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said students need to be aware of their rights when it comes to police involvement.

"The University police take advantage of the fact that people are intimidated by the police," Neal said