Marijuana users now have a real reason to be paranoid.

More than ever, NIU and national law enforcement officials are cracking down on marijuana use.

Marijuana arrests at NIU nearly doubled from 2006 to 2007, according to Lt. Curtis Young of the University Police. Judicial referrals involving marijuana at NIU doubled in that same period.

“I don’t know the root cause,” said Lt. Todd Henert of the University Police. “It may just be cyclical. It may just be use has increased.”

Nationally, marijuana arrests were at an all-time high in 2007, having increased for the fifth straight year, according to an FBI report released earlier this month.

The increase in arrests for marijuana use, both nationally and at NIU, may not directly correspond with an increase in use.

“Marijuana use is relatively flat,” said health educator Steve Lux, who said 30 percent of people nationwide report to have used in the last year, a statistic that has generally stayed the same for years.

According to a spring 2007 Health Enhancement survey of 834 random students, 14.6 percent of NIU students admitted to have used marijuana in the previous 30 days. Health Enhancement did not conduct the study in any of the four years prior to 2007.

Lux said a possible reason for the hike in arrests is an increased interest in the enforcement of marijuana laws.

“There’s a lot of communities that got Homeland Security money that didn’t know how to use it,” he said, noting that a lot of that money was instead directed toward enforcing drug laws.

Keri Burchfield, assistant professor of sociology, said the increase in marijuana arrests may be related to the increase in violent crimes in big cities.

“Sometimes police crack down on easier crimes when there are bigger problems that they’re failing to tackle,” she said. “‘Well look, at least we’re doing this, at least we’re getting these guys.'”

In her Criminology and Deviance classes, Burchfield has noticed how comfortable students are talking about their marijuana use.

“Marijuana is the most-used illicit drug,” she said. “My perception is even if use is stabilizing, acceptance is going up.”

The increase in arrests could have an affect on how many people use the drug in the future, Lux said, though it may not necessarily be a good thing.

“If enforcement becomes really aggressive and people are aware of that, it may deter a few people,” he said. “But then they’ll be more secretive and they end up smoking in less safe places.”