In 1992, Penn State student Dana Pitely set up a drug sale for police with Hari Ganapathy, a fellow student and drug dealer. Ganapathy was fined for delivery of marijuana, and when Pitely confessed to the actions she had taken against Ganapathy, he kidnapped and beat her.

Pitely was a necessity to police in this case because she was used to report on activities that would otherwise have been unknown, but in the end, her life was put in danger. Sara Rossi, co-president of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), said "student-on-student" drug informing, such as this, is one of the many activities in State College that the NORML Penn State chapter is trying to change.

"Right now, we have a petition going through the faculty asking them to oppose the use of students as police informants," Rossi said.

Penn State University Police and State College Police were unavailable for comment on the issue of student drug informants.

Rossi said the group also has larger goals such as legalizing medicinal marijuana, decriminalizing marijuana and legalizing home cultivation.

The Penn State branch of NORML is new this year, after the dissolution of former chapters in the past.

"We are concerned about the student awareness of laws and personal rights when it comes to marijuana use," NORML Co-President Jay Bundy (sophomore-bachelor of philosophy) said. "NORML is about change, and unless people get out there and start asking questions about why things aren't adding up, we will never see the change we need."

The change Bundy is referring to is the decriminalization of marijuana in State College.

"We would like to see marijuana laws in State College similar to those in Ann Arbor, Michigan, or in Berkeley," Bundy said.

Ann Arbor's law states that the possession of an ounce or less of marijuana is not considered a misdemeanor or a felony -- instead it is simply a summary offense punishable by a fine of no more than $25 for a first offense, Bundy said.

There are many steps that need to be taken before any new laws are introduced, but NORML faculty adviser and professor of English Richard Doyle said Bundy and Rossi are on the right track.

"NORML is important because it gives students a place to come together as a group to have an intelligent conversation about marijuana issues," Doyle said. "The main focus right now is on harm reduction so that we can help to minimize the negative impact that the drug war is having on people's lives."

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 89 percent of 12th-graders in 1975 said it was "easy to get" marijuana, and in 2005, 86 percent of 12th-graders said the same.

Sam Richards, senior lecturer in sociology, said it's clear from the statistics the drug war is failing and has not impacted the American people, "aside from putting thousands of them in jail for simple possession charges."

"A lot of students use marijuana in unhealthy ways because there is no rational conversation, but if we had programs with guidelines for marijuana use like we have for alcohol then maybe things would change," Richards said.

While plans to revolutionize the marijuana politics in State College are still under way, NORML is busy with other projects.

It will hold a conference on April 19 and 20, most likely in the Thomas Building and in the Forum, Rossi said.

"It will be mainly student presentations, but the main idea is to give students a chance to research a marijuana topic in any direction that interests them," she said.

At the April conference, NORML will also hold workshops and screen the film High, which is about the cannabis culture. The group is still looking at the possibility of holding a show on April 19 at the Crowbar, 420 E. College Ave.