Two students face charges of robbery and possession
FREDERICTON (CUP) — With the exception of the occasional drug bust, arrests at the University of New Brunswick aren’t common. But both Fredericton police and UNB’s security director said that doesn’t mean drug use is scarce.
Security director Bruce Rogerson said there have been very few complaints about people smoking marijuana in residences, and there have been around five incidents in the year that he’s been here. However, he focused on the correlation between students’ drug use and flunking out of university.
“People should use us like Crime Stoppers and let us know one way or the other without divulging their name if they see suspicious people destroying fellow students’ lives,” he said.
“I’m not saying they should be informants, but should be aware of who’s who in the zoo.”
This is in light of recent arrests for robbery and drug possession on Feb. 17, when a male student flagged down a security vehicle because someone jumped him near the bookstore for his backpack. The other male student was caught by the police and arrested for robbery, and the backpack was found in a nearby snow bank.
It contained drugs, which cannot be specified because of the case’s ongoing nature. The student who had been robbed was also arrested and charged with possession.
“Do we have a drug problem on campus on a per capita basis and because of the inexperience of the youth? It’s not totally visible to us,” said Rogerson.
“But when you find two students or two people on campus, one with a significant amount of low-level cash on him, it means he obviously sold to a significant number of people on campus and off campus.”
The residential policy is zero tolerance, but Rogerson suggested that drug use on campus is covert, it’s often hard to detect without information on who’s selling them.
When students with prior offenses arrive on campus, it won’t show up on their university file.
If they are caught with drugs, UNB security must let the court run its course. The only academic punishment applied is a modified trespass notice, which Rogerson oversees. The students are only to attend class and fulfill any academic requirements for them to be on campus, after which they are to leave immediately.
Sgt. Scott Mackenzie, non-commissioned officer in charge of Fredericton Police’s Drug Crimes section, said they hear drug use is quite common on campus, but haven’t made many arrests or seizures. Information is coming in from Crime Stoppers and confidential informants at UNB and STU.
He said ecstasy use has been on the rise in Canada in recent years, but marijuana has maintained its position as one of the most commonly used drugs. It’s not the same stuff many of our parents used to smoke, however. Much of the modern product is laced with synthetic additives like crystal meth.
“It’s very concerning to us because it’s not like the days of just smoking a little bit of marijuana at a party, these pills can have serious effects to individuals. The chemicals that go in them are scary and everyone will have a different effect with them.”
Sgt. Mackenzie said he doesn’t believe drugs on campus are a prominent problem, but said there has been an element of illegal drug use here for decades.
The court date for the students is March 30, and the students’ names will be released once charges have been laid.
