Call it a victory for pot-smoking in a college town.

Or view it as a law change just confusing enough to land some students living on or near Penn State University’s main campus in bigger trouble than they envisioned.

Just as the fall semester starts, State College is becoming the latest municipality in Pennsylvania to move toward decriminalizing marijuana.

A new ordinance effective Sept. 7 will give borough police discretion to treat possession and use of 30 grams or less as a summary offense, rather than a misdemeanor violation of state law punishable by up to 30 days in jail, a $500 fine and potentially loss of student financial aid.

Under the ordinance, police can issue non-traffic citations similar to being caught in public with an open alcohol container. Fines of $250 for possession and $350 for consumption in public will not endanger federal financial aid, police and campus officials say.

Proponents say the measure approved Aug. 1 by borough council makes more sense than jeopardizing someone’s job or scholarship over a relatively minor offense. They say that view is becoming mainstream, citing similar ordinances enacted as close by as Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, as well as in a growing number of states that have lessened penalties or legalized small amounts.

“There has definitely been a seachange in attitudes,” said State College Mayor Elizabeth Goreham. “It’s not seen as a serious threat to our students here.”

Even so, those emboldened to light up on- or near- campus after Sept. 7, telling themselves, "Hey, it's just a fine," may want to first consider a catch with the new ordinance — actually, a few of them.

For starters, only part of Penn State's University Park campus is in State College. The campus of 46,000-students also sits in parts of College, Ferguson, Patton and Benner townships, which have no such ordinance, nor does the rest of Centre County.

Even if those municipalities enact something similar, Penn State says it is still obliged under federal law to treat marijuana as a misdemeanor on campus, or risk losing financial aid and research subsidies.

That begs the question: Is sneaking just one hit from a joint in a campus dorm room now a bigger threat to one’s academic future than strutting down a busy borough street at noon getting high? Is it better to be spotted lighting up by borough cops in a municipal garage than by university police outside Beaver Stadium on game day?

Some can’t resist poking fun, judging by comments posted to Onward State, an alternative student-oriented news site.

“The Boro needs to outline its boundaries in bright red paint,” one reader said.

“Or in Big Green Plants…. Whatever works,” said another.

Then there is the matter of paraphernalia. Apparently, nobody bothered to address it in the ordinance.

Until that’s changed, anyone stopped in the borough with an amount of marijuana small enough to escape criminal prosecution still can be charged with a misdemeanor for carrying rolling papers or a pipe.

With classes due to start today, and with students already expressing confusion, Penn State administrators sought to clarify things with a question-and-answer sheet devoted to Ordinance 2078. They said reducing penalties does not mean marijuana is legal in State College and that “the ordinance may not apply where you live.”

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 21 states and the District of Columbia have decriminalized small amounts of marijuana, meaning in general that offenses are considered lesser civil infractions rather than violations of state law, or are misdemeanors for which there is no jail time.

The State College measure originated with a proposal to the borough council in March from Luis Rolfo, then a Penn State senior. He was among a majority of speakers backing the idea during a May public hearing.

The borough’s administration recommended against the ordinance, citing complications enforcing it. But it passed by a 5-2 vote and was signed into law a week later by the mayor.

Jesse Barlow, a borough council member and a professor of computer science and engineering at Penn State, said he long has favored the idea.

“I see a lot of bright kids,’’ he said. “I would hate to see one of them lose a scholarship over having an ounce of weed. I just think that’s silly.”’

Statistics presented to council indicate marijuana enforcement is a far bigger issue for university police than for the borough.

Last year, university police charged 178 individuals on or off campus with possessing a small amount of marijuana, versus 33 charged by borough police, according to testimony before council. Had the ordinance been in force that year, only a small share might have escaped criminal prosecution, officials said.

Of the 33 charged, half were accused of at least one other misdemeanor or were stopped in municipalities patrolled by borough police where the ordinance is not in force. That leaves 13 individuals who could have been eligible under the ordinance, though all but four received Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition, a diversionary program under which a record can be expunged and loss of financial aid can be avoided.

State College Police Chief Tom King said he is comfortable conceptually with lesser penalties for a small amount of marijuana. But he would rather have a state law change than have penalties for the same offense vary by local jurisdiction.

Two days after the ordinance passed, said Mr. King, borough police got an inkling of what may lie ahead when an officer came upon three individuals with marijuana in a borough park.

“They said they live in the residence halls on campus and that it’s not allowed on campus, so they came downtown because borough council made it legal.” he said. “People are confused.”

Susan Riseling, executive director of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators, said being able to issue citations actually could encourage greater enforcement of minor marijuana offenses. That’s because it gives officers another tool “to hold people accountable for their behaviors” without tying up the courts with a criminal prosecution that can leave a permanent mark on an individual.

That sort of balancing act was on the minds of speakers during the May 2 borough hearing.

Council listened to perspectives ranging from college students and a defense attorney supporting reduced penalties to a mother worried about sending the wrong message.

One speaker, Peter Morris of State College, reminded council of the arbitrary decisions society makes about what substances are dangerous enough to be controlled. Consider marijuana versus tobacco.

“You might … say that in the long run marijuana smoking is bad for your health, and it is, I’m sure,” he said.

“But tobacco is legal,” he added. “Marijuana isn’t.”

Bill Schackner: bschackner@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1977 and on Twitter: @BschacknerPG.

First Published: August 22, 2016, 4:08 a.m.